


silence doesn't mean nothing

by aserenitatum



Series: silence doesn't mean anything [1]
Category: Pitch Perfect (Movies)
Genre: 5+1 Things, Angst, Domestic Fluff, F/F, Mutual Pining, canon compliant (sort of), fix-it (sort of), set three years after Pitch Perfect 3
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-24
Updated: 2018-06-11
Packaged: 2019-05-07 09:58:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 41,777
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14668656
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aserenitatum/pseuds/aserenitatum
Summary: When Stacie wakes up pressed against Aubrey, arm flung over her middle with Aubrey's hand firmly keeping her in place, her first thought is that it's almost worrying how easily they fall back into familiarity. She closes her eyes, keeps her breathing even so as to not wake Aubrey and she blames the early morning for her weakness as she revels in the feeling of being wrapped around the blonde.or, five times they don't take their chance and one time they do.





	1. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> reminder: this is set almost exactly 3 years after Pitch Perfect 3

Stacie’s happily engaging in the lively conversation, Bella in her lap, legs swinging happily, occasionally brushing Stacie’s calves as the girl watches the women with interest. Stacie opens her mouth to counter something Ashley’s just said when Fat Amy runs in, huge grin on her face.  

“Who was at the door?” Chloe asks, and they can all hear heels clacking down the hallway and Amy looks like she’s bursting with excitement. Chloe ends up answering her own question, loudly yelling “Aubrey!” with a squeal when the blonde turns the corner into the dining room and Chloe’s already out of her chair and launching herself at Aubrey. 

It’s a little unnatural how quickly Stacie’s head snaps up at the name, surprise evident as her words die on her lips.  

Aubrey’s smiling widely, arms around Chloe who’s stuck to her like an octopus. “Hi everybody,” she says to the group over Chloe’s shoulder. 

There’s a chorus of welcomes and hellos, and Stacie looks down at the girl in her lap. 

“Do you remember aunt Bree?” she asks and Bella looks up at her with wide eyes, thinly-veiled panic more than obvious. 

Stacie knows Bella doesn’t remember Aubrey because she can’t even remember the last time _she’d_  seen Aubrey, let alone the last time Bella had seen her.  

“It’s okay,” Stacie reassures, rubbing the girl’s leg softly. “She’s really nice.” 

Once Chloe lets her go, Aubrey makes her way around the table to hug each of the Bellas, and Stacie feels like she’s having a little trouble keeping her breathing even in anticipation. Stacie notices she’s holding a bright green gift bag as she approaches them, and Stacie wants to get up to give the blonde a proper hug but Bella’s showing no signs of budging. 

She shoots a wry smile at Aubrey, who softly shakes her head. 

“Hi,” she says, leans down to hug Stacie and the angle is awkward but they hold onto each other for a little too long anyway. 

“Hey,” Stacie says, tries to swallow down the thickness in her throat. “We didn’t think you were going to make it.” 

“I couldn’t miss Bella’s third birthday,” she says, and it’s a little loud and Stacie knows she’s saying it more for Bella’s benefit than for her, because they both know Aubrey almost would have missed the girl’s birthday due to work. 

Aubrey drops down into a crouch to be at eye level with the almost-3-year-old. 

“Hi Bella,” she says, smiles sweetly. 

The girl smiles back and squirms in Stacie’s lap to face Aubrey. “Hi!” 

“This is for you,” Aubrey says, and there’s that green gift bag again. She hands it to the girl, whose eyes open wide with surprise and excitement, quickly glancing up at her mother before taking the bag. 

“Her birthday is tomorrow,” Stacie tries to chide, puts a hand on the bag before Bella can get her hand in it. 

“I know that,” Aubrey says, still smiling at Bella who’s buzzing with joy. “This isn’t her birthday present.” 

Aubrey finally looks up and Stacie can’t help but shoot her an admonishing look. 

“Bree…” 

“Let’s call it a Christmas present,” Aubrey says with a coy smile. 

“Christmas was four months ago,” Stacie points out and Aubrey rolls her eyes. 

“Mama…” Bella whines pleadingly, small fingers flexing against the shiny green material where Stacie still has her hand. 

“It’s nothing big, I promise,” Aubrey whispers, and their gazes are heated as they stare at each other. 

Bella whines again and Stacie acquiesces, lifts her hand slowly and Bella squeals with delight, hand shooting into the bag, completely oblivious to the staring contest happening between the two adults. 

Aubrey smiles coyly, and Stacie can’t help but flit her eyes down to look at the blonde’s lips before looking away at Bella. 

The girl’s eyes are wide and she’s quiet when she pulls out the gift, and when Aubrey laughs softly, Stacie sees how awestruck Bella is. 

She’s holding a purple-trimmed white sash with the words “birthday girl” emblazoned across the front, staring at it with wide eyes and then there’s tears and Aubrey’s eyes go wide with panic. 

She looks up at Stacie with a concerned frown, looking nervous and Stacie softly shakes her head. 

“You like it, huh?” Stacie says, rubbing Bella’s back and the girl nods, holds the sash against her body. Stacie can see Aubrey breathe a sigh of relief, small smile tugging at her lips. 

“Are you going to thank aunt Bree?” Stacie urges, smiling at Aubrey. 

Bella nods, hops out of Stacie’s lap and wraps her arms around Aubrey in a tight hug. “Thank you aunt Bree!” 

“You’re welcome, Bella,” Aubrey says, cradles the girl against her with a soft smile. 

Stacie’s putting the sash back into the bag when Bella turns to her with a deep frown that Aubrey catches. 

“It’s not your birthday yet,” Aubrey explains, hand on Bella’s back and then the girl is turning to her with a soft pout. “You can wear it all day tomorrow,” Aubrey says with an encouraging smile, reaches out to tuck some of Bella’s hair behind her ear. 

“Even to bed?” she asks and Aubrey glances up at Stacie who nods. 

“Even to bed,” Aubrey confirms and then Bella is smiling widely again. 

The words seal Aubrey as Bella’s clear favourite and it’s noticeable all afternoon. 

Beca grumbles under her breath later when Bella flat out turns down her offer to watch Anastasia together and instead chooses to sit in Aubrey’s lap as the blonde catches up with Chloe. 

“She has a bedroom here, how is Aubrey her favourite?” Beca whines and Stacie laughs at how miserable she sounds, sees as Beca shoots an unsuspecting Aubrey daggers with her eyes. 

“Aubrey is new and shiny. She’ll come back to you,” Stacie tries to explain but Beca doesn’t seem convinced and Stacie pats her shoulder with pity.  

Beca seems distracted by her temporary dislike of Aubrey, so Stacie takes advantage of it to pursue her own agenda. “So, how long is she staying?”  

Beca shrugs. “I don’t know, she just told me she’d be here and to not tell Chloe.”  

Stacie’s quiet for too long and Beca drags her eyes away from where Aubrey and Bella are cuddled on the couch to look at Stacie with a furrowed brow.  

“Why?” 

“Just wondering,” Stacie says with a nonchalant shrug, but Beca narrows her eyes in disbelief. “Just want to know how long I’ll get to enjoy your torture,” Stacie teases and Beca’s back on her jealous streak, glowering at Aubrey from across the room. 

“Are you staying?” Chloe asks.  

“Yes,” Aubrey says, then looks around the room with a wry smile. “If you have the space.”  

“For you? Always,” Chloe says, waving off the woman’s concerns. “You have best friend privileges.”  

That makes Aubrey laugh and catches Bella’s attention, who looks up at the two women with inquisitive eyes.  

“I’ll be here until Monday afternoon,” Aubrey explains, fingers softly rubbing across Bella’s back.  

“Awes,” Chloe says, and then her gaze falls down to the girl in Aubrey’s lap. “Did you hear that, monkey? Your aunt Bree is here all weekend!” Chloe says excitedly and Bella smiles back, matching Chloe’s excitement.  

“She’s gotten so big,” Aubrey says softly, wistfully as Bella smiles up at her before returning to playing with the fabric of Aubrey’s shirt.  

“When did you last see her?” Chloe asks, watching Aubrey closely.  

“Last year?” Aubrey says but she doesn’t sound too sure about it. 

“Why is that?”  

Aubrey looks up at Chloe sharply, frowning. “What do you mean?”  

“You’re here a lot and they don’t live too far,” Chloe explains, but she’s not meeting Aubrey’s eyes.  

“I don’t know,” Aubrey whispers, runs her hand over Bella’s hair. “Stacie and I aren’t very close.”  

“Hm,” Chloe hums, but doesn’t elaborate.  

Aubrey’s about to ask her what she’s very obviously trying not to say when Chloe sits up abruptly and whistles loudly to get everybody’s attention.  

Bella flinches at the loud sound, and so does Aubrey, holds the girl closer to her body protectively.  

“Room arrangements!” Chloe calls out loudly and the women spread around the living area all turn to Chloe. “The couch comfortably sleeps four so Jessica, Ashley, and Emily you’ll sleep here. Fat Amy and Lilly in one of the downstairs guestrooms, Flo and CR, you’re in the other guestroom down here. Stacie, you’re with Bella in her bedroom and Aubrey you’re upstairs.”  

She claps her hands to indicate she’s done, smiles when everybody nods in understanding.  

“Hang on, why does Aubrey get her own room?” Amy calls out, can’t resist.  

“Because Chloe loves me more than you,” Aubrey shoots back, narrowing her eyes at Amy playfully and the woman mirrors the expression, but Chloe’s shaking her head in exasperation.  

“Because that’s not a guest room, that’s _Aubrey’s_ room,” Chloe says strongly, leaving no room for more argument. When Amy turns to look at Beca, the woman nods in confirmation.  

“I wouldn’t have minded sharing with Emily,” Aubrey whispers to Chloe once Amy goes back to her conversation, but Chloe waves away her concerns.  

“You’ve seen the couch, it’s more than comfortable and you’re such a picky sleeper,” Chloe quickly says and then Aubrey’s frowning at her. “What?”  

“I am _not_ a picky sleeper,” Aubrey argues.  

“You so are,” Chloe says as if it’s the most obvious thing in the world.  

“Just because I don’t like being suffocated by your koala sleeping cuddles does not mean I’m a picky sleeper,” Aubrey says and then Chloe’s the affronted one.  

“Picky. Sleeper,” Chloe says before getting up with a smug look and joining Beca in the kitchen.  

Aubrey barely has time to roll her eyes before Stacie’s dropping onto the couch next to her.  

“Hey.”  

“Hey,” Aubrey says softly with a smile, looks away from Stacie to look down at Bella, who’s curled up in her lap and very close to falling asleep. Bella’s head is pressed against Aubrey’s chest and the blonde is slowly running her fingers across the girl’s back.  

“Is it bedtime?” Aubrey asks softly, glancing up at Stacie and doing a double take when she finds that Stacie had been looking at her and not at Bella.  

Stacie shakes her head, shrugs one shoulder.  

“Convincing her to go to bed is a lot easier when she’s already half asleep,” Stacie says and Aubrey chuckles, the movement jarring Bella who frowns but doesn’t shift away.  

As an apology, Aubrey runs her fingers through Bella’s hair and the girl sighs softly, cuddling more into Aubrey.  

Stacie can’t help but think that the two look adorable together. Aubrey’s still in her pencil skirt and work blouse and Bella’s in unicorn-patterned pyjamas and together they look like they belong in a catalogue.  

“Did you come sit here just so you can stare at me?” Aubrey says, and her voice is low as she tries to keep it quiet so as to not jar Bella again, and there’s a teasing lilt to that low voice that Stacie can’t help but engage with.  

“I could stare at you just fine from across the room,” she teases back and Aubrey’s response is to roll her eyes but Stacie sees the corners of her mouth tick upwards in a badly-suppressed smile.  

“So, no?” 

“I wanted to ask if I could sleep with you.”  

Aubrey frowns deeply, and it confuses Stacie until she reruns that line in her head and understands the alternate interpretation.  

“What?” Aubrey whispers, flits her eyes across the room.  

“No! Not like—” Stacie takes a deep breath before continuing. “Just sleeping!” she insists but Aubrey still looks suspicious.  

“I know your room has a queen sized bed but Bella has a single and I love her but she kicks in her sleep and I’d like to keep my shins intact,” Stacie rambles and it soothes Aubrey’s frown.  

Stacie’s not sure why Aubrey looking relieved makes her feel a certain way — not great, that is — but she elects to push that thought to the back of her mind for now.  

Aubrey looks across the room again, finds Chloe looking at them before quickly averting her gaze and Aubrey suddenly understands why Chloe had let her have the room to herself.  

“Sure,” she says, turning back to Stacie.  

“Thank you!” Stacie says, relieved. “My legs will be eternally grateful.”  

There’s a quip on the tip of her tongue, and Stacie can see how hard Aubrey’s working not to say the words and she’s a little disappointed when all Aubrey ends up doing is smiling coyly.  

“How have you been, Stacie?” Aubrey asks, venturing into safe territory, and they fall into an easy, light conversation. 

 

* * *

 

Stacie’s already showered and ready to go to sleep, and she’s reading when Aubrey walks into the bedroom.  

“You’re on my side,” Aubrey says when she glances over and finds Stacie lounging on the left side of the bed.  

She’s rummaging through her bag for something, has her back to Stacie so she misses the way Stacie glances up and rakes her gaze down Aubrey’s body slowly.  

“What?” Stacie asks when she registers Aubrey’s words.  

“You’re on my side,” Aubrey says, looks over her shoulder and gestures for Stacie to move to the other side of the bed,  

“No, I’m not,” Stacie replies indignantly.  

Aubrey finally finds what she’s looking for — her phone charger — and moves towards the bed, on the side that Stacie’s laying.  

“Yes, you are,” Aubrey says, “Scootch.”  

“You always sleep on the right,” Stacie says, but she suddenly doesn’t sound too sure about it.  

“I _sometimes_ sleep on the right.”  

She crosses her arms, arches an eyebrow when Stacie still won’t move.  

Stacie is staring at her with a peculiar look on her face, but then she groans softly and shifts to the other side of the bed.  

“Thank you,” Aubrey whispers teasingly and Stacie rolls her eyes.  

“You’re welcome for the pre-warmed bed,” Stacie teases back and then Aubrey laughs.  

Stacie bookmarks and closes her book, places it on the nightstand next to the bed before turning to face Aubrey, who’s typing something on her phone.  

“I’m glad you could make it,” Stacie says softly and Aubrey turns to her and returns Stacie’s smile.  

“So am I. It’s been too long.”  

Stacie nods and there’s a moment there, but then Stacie looks away to yawn and Aubrey’s smile widens.  

“Do you need me to turn off the light? I have to finish this,” she says, gestures to her phone.  

“No,” Stacie says, shakes her head as she squirms down to settle into bed, takes off her glasses and puts them next to her book. “You can keep the light on.”  

Her voice sounds sleepy and Aubrey smiles down at her. “Good night, Stacie.”  

“Night, Aubrey.” 

 

* * *

 

When Stacie wakes up pressed against Aubrey, arm flung over her waist and Aubrey’s hand anchoring Stacie’s arm there, her first thought is that it’s almost worrying how easily they fall back into familiarity. 

She closes her eyes, keeps her breathing even so as to not wake Aubrey and she blames the early morning for her weakness as she revels in the feeling of being wrapped around the blonde.  

Aubrey’s still fast asleep so with a deep sigh Stacie slowly starts disentangling herself from their embrace, carefully sliding her leg out from between Aubrey’s, careful not to jar the woman too much before completely pulling away.  

She’s becoming restless and she doesn’t want to wake Aubrey, silently curses her internal clock that doesn’t allow her to sleep in anymore as she quietly slips out of bed and tiptoes out of the room.  

Bella’s bedroom isn’t completely dark, her moon nightlight giving the room a soft glow, so when Stacie leans over the bed, she sees that Bella’s already awake, eyes wide open as she’s lying on her back.  

“Happy birthday, baby girl,” Stacie whispers, not wanting to break the quiet peace of the room.  

Bella doesn’t answer, just smiles widely up at Stacie, eyes going wide as if suddenly remembering it’s her birthday.  

“You’re getting so big,” Stacie whispers as she reaches down and lifts Bella out of bed, settling the girl on her hip and cradling her close to her body.  

She leans in and presses her lips against the crown of Bella’s head when the girl cuddles into her, and Stacie’s eyes slide closed as she takes in a deep breath, eyes unwittingly filling with tears.  

“You’re growing up too fast,” she whispers shakily but Bella doesn’t hear her, just burrows her face into Stacie’s neck and yawns.  “Why are you up so early?” Stacie asks a little louder so Bella can hear her.  

“Wanna cuddle,” Bella mumbles and it makes Stacie smile. She reaches up and quickly wipes away her tears as she laughs silently.  

She knows that had she stayed in bed for a little bit longer, Bella would be crawling into bed with her for their usual weekend morning cuddles.  

“Come on, then,” Stacie says, even though she’s still holding the sleepy girl.  

It’s not until she’s closing the bedroom door behind her that she remembers that she’s sharing a bed with Aubrey — or, that Aubrey’s sharing her bed with _her_  — and she’s not sure how the blonde would feel about having Bella in bed with them.  

Aubrey has shifted onto her back since Stacie left and Bella sees her, lights up and squirms to be let out of Stacie’s embrace. Aubrey still looks deeply asleep so Stacie moves closer and lower Bella onto the bed.  

The girl clutches her blanket closely as she crawls to the middle of the bed, and Stacie grimaces when she lays down right next to Aubrey. Stacie’s expression eases when Aubrey sighs in her sleep and shifts sideways, almost curling around Bella and Stacie’s filled with relief as she slides into bed next to Bella. 

 

* * *

 

Aubrey wakes up  to soft fingers tapping across her cheeks.  

She slowly opens her eyes, and comes face to face with a pair of bright green eyes.  

“Good morning,” Aubrey says, and Bella cracks a wide smile, still hovering above Aubrey’s face.  

“Hi!” she says cheerfully, staring down at Aubrey with a toothy grin. “It’s my birthday!”  

“I know that,” Aubrey teases, reaches up to tickle the girl who then collapses on top of her in a heap of giggles.  

Bella’s laughter is pure and infectious and Aubrey can’t help but also laugh. She glances around the room when Bella finally settles to catch her breath and frowns when she finds the curtains drawn but no sign of Stacie.  

“Where’s your mommy?” Aubrey asks, and Bella twists in bed to look at her and shrug.  

“Dunno.”  

“Should we go find her?” Aubrey suggest and Bella nods, already squirming to get out of bed. She waits patiently by the door as Aubrey slips out of bed and pulls on her robe, grabbing her phone and putting it in her pocket.  

Aubrey can’t help but smile when Bella slips her hand into the woman’s as they walk down the hallway.  

It’s still early and the house is quiet, but she can hear someone moving around downstairs and when she follows the sound, they end up in the kitchen.  

“Good morning birthday girl!” Stacie says happily when she sees them and Bella lets go of Aubrey’s hand to run towards her mother, and Stacie’s already crouching down with her arms open when Bella crashes into her for a hug.  

“That’s me!” Bella says excitedly.  

“Yes it is!”  

Stacie stands up while still holding Bella, settles the girl against her and Bella happily wraps her arms around Stacie’s neck.  

Aubrey watches the interaction from where she’s leaning against the entryway, doesn’t want to step further and ruin their bubble, but then Stacie turns her wide smile onto Aubrey, her expression earnest and open as she gestures the blonde closer.  

“Morning,” Stacie says with a lopsided smile.  

“Good morning,” Aubrey says, returning the smile.  

“Coffee?”  

“Yes, please,” Aubrey says, watches as Stacie walks around the kitchen island to deposit Bella on one of the bar stools there before easily moving around the kitchen, filling a mug with coffee and dropping two sugar cubes into it.  

“Alright, munchkin,” Stacie announces, hands the coffee to Aubrey. “Breakfast time!”  

“Pancakes?” Bella asks hopefully and Aubrey has to hide her smile with her coffee cup when she sees Stacie grimace.  

“We can try,” Stacie says and that earns her a soft pout from Bella.  

Stacie starts looking through cupboards for the ingredients and Aubrey slides onto the bar stool next to Bella. She looks up when Stacie softly proclaims “a-ha!” while holding up a pancake mix and she meets Aubrey’s eyes and grins. Aubrey smiles softly in return, heart warming at how easy it is to sit and just watch the woman.  

“Mama?” Bella interrupts, and both adults turn to her. “Can I have juice?”  

“Of course, baby,” Stacie says, already opening the fridge and pulling out a carton of orange juice. Bella wiggles in her seat excitedly and Aubrey instinctively puts her hand on the girl’s back, nervous about Bella falling off the high stool.  

Once Bella has her juice, Stacie goes back to the pancake mix, squinting at the instructions as she collects a bowl and mixing spoon.  

“How’d you sleep?” Stacie asks, looking up from the mix at Aubrey and the blonde is startled out of her thoughts by the words.  

“Hm?”  

“Sleep well?” Stacie repeats with a grin and Aubrey doesn’t look away from her twinkling eyes, an eyebrow arching playfully.  

“I did.”  

“Good.”  

“How are your legs?” Aubrey teases. 

“Better than ever,” Stacie flirts and they stare at each other heatedly.  

Stacie looks away first and Aubrey lets out a small laugh, sips from her coffee again. She watches as Stacie measures out the mix and adds milk.  

Aubrey sees as she reaches for an egg and lifts her hand to crack the shell against the edge of the bowl and she has to intervene, but she knows it’s a little too loudly when she says, “No!”  

Stacie’s hand hovers in the air, egg still intact and staring at Aubrey with wide eyes. Even Bella’s looking at her in surprise.  

“Crack the eggs in a separate bowl and beat them before adding them,” Aubrey says quickly and Stacie slowly smiles.  

She doesn’t say anything but she does follow the instructions, and when she’s done beating the eggs she looks at Aubrey for permission before adding them to the pancake mix. The blonde nods but doesn’t say anything, a soft blush making its way onto her face when Stacie won’t stop grinning at her.  

“You have to let the batter sit for a couple of minutes,” Aubrey pipes up again when Stacie finishes mixing and moves to turn on the stove.  

“Do you want to do this?” Stacie teases.  

“No, thanks,” Aubrey says primly, smiles as she sips her coffee.  

Stacie shakes her head in exasperation but doesn’t fight it, instead reaching for her own coffee and taking a large gulp. “Did you go into the living room yet?” she asks, eyes twinkling with mirth.  

“No, why?”  

“Go have a look,” Stacie urges and Aubrey’s initially suspicious of Stacie’s giddiness but her curiosity wins out and she slides off the barstool to go to the living room.  

She doesn’t have to move far, eyes falling on the couch that’s been transformed into a large bed and she smiles widely.  

She’s not sure what she’d been expecting, but Emily in the middle with Jessica and Ashley on either side sandwiching her tightly between them is definitely not what she’d imagined.  

“That’s amazing,” Aubrey says with a smile when she’s back in the kitchen.  

“They were even more squished together when I first came downstairs,” Stacie confesses.  

“Did you take a picture?” Aubrey asks, even though she knows she did because Stacie takes pictures of everything.  

“Of course,” Stacie scoffs, reaches for her phone to show Aubrey the picture.  

“How are they even breathing?” Aubrey asks, tilting her head sideways when looking at the photo to try and figure out how that amount of cuddling could be comfortable.  

Stacie shrugs, turns back to the stove and turning it on. Bella’s playing with an apple and banana that she’d grabbed from the fruit bowl in front of her and Aubrey watches the girl play quietly.  

When Stacie pours the batter onto the grill, it sizzles a little too loudly and Aubrey snaps her eyes towards the stove but doesn’t say anything.  

“Flip it,” Aubrey instructs after a while and Stacie turns to her with a spatula in her hand and a frown on her face.  

“What?”  

“Flip the pancake.”  

“No, the instructions say the top needs to bubble. It’s not bubbling,” Stacie argues, points to the box on the counter.  

“Stacie. Flip. The. Pancake,” Aubrey says strongly.  

Stacie opens her mouth with a rebuttal but then Aubrey glares at her with a really potent glare, the one they’d all become intimately familiar with during Aubrey’s reign as Bellas captain and Stacie turns to the griddle and flips the pancake and Aubrey relaxes, sipping the last of her coffee to hide a smile.  

Aubrey can see Stacie glare at the pancake a little later, spatula ready to plate the pancake but hesitating and she rolls her eyes.  

“It’s done.”  

Stacie doesn’t argue with her this time, plates the pancake and reaches for the syrup before turning and depositing both in front of Bella.  

The girl drops the fruits immediately, sitting up straighter with excitement as Stacie hands her a child-friendly fork and knife.  

She makes the mistake of letting Bella pour her own syrup, and when the pancake is half covered, her hand shoots out to grab the bottle of maple syrup.  

“Whoah there young lady,” Stacie says quickly, pulling away the bottle and Bella grins with mischief and Aubrey has the sudden thought that it’s such a Stacie-smile.  

Bella struggles to cut the pancake into pieces, but when Aubrey looks up and meets Stacie’s eyes, the brunette shakes her head and sure enough, Bella manages to cut the pancake into oddly-sized pieces. When Stacie turns back to the stove, Bella sneakily shoves one of the syrup-covered pieces into her mouth with her hand instead of her fork and Aubrey snorts softly, quickly schooling her features when Stacie turns back and narrows her eyes at them.  

“What happened?” she asks suspiciously but Bella’s blinking up at her innocently, mouth closed as she chews and Aubrey’s face is completely blank.  

Her suspicion falters and her expression eases.  

“Is it good?” Stacie asks and Bella’s nodding enthusiastically and it surprises her.  

She reaches for Bella’s fork and steals a bite, moaning softly at the taste.  Aubrey watches her with an arched eyebrow and Stacie turns to her with a soft smile, the silence lingering between them heavily. 

The moment is broken when they’re interrupted by Chloe walking into the kitchen and saying, “Ooh, I thought I smelled pancakes!” 

 

* * *

 

Bella’s birthday party goes off without a hitch, even if Beca grumbles that Bella sticks to Aubrey like glue and doesn’t even play with Beca. When they’re singing happy birthday and cutting the cake, Bella has a tight grip on Aubrey’s hand and Stacie laughs at how disgruntled Beca looks.  

Later that night, when all the party guests have gone home, Stacie lets Bella open her presents and Bella happily sits in Aubrey’s lap when she does so, and Chloe has to wrap her arms around Beca to soothe the woman and convince her that at least somebody in the house still loves her. 

Beca gets Bella a colouring set, but Aubrey gets her playdoh and it’s clear which gift is the favourite when Bella ignores the fancy colouring book in favour of squishing her hand into the playdoh.

“When do you leave?” Beca says a little too loudly that night, after Bella’s been put to bed and the women are all gathered in the living room.  

Aubrey laughs and so does the group, but Beca just crosses her arms petulantly.  

“Oh, you’re serious?” Aubrey says, but she’s still laughing and Beca knows she’s being childish, knows she’s pouting when Chloe won’t stop rubbing her arm. “Not until Monday.”  

Beca grumbles, scowl deepening when they all laugh at her. 

 

* * *

 

“Hey, don’t be a stranger, okay?” Stacie says after hugging Aubrey goodbye.  

“I’ll try,” Aubrey says, but Stacie’s hands are still on her shoulders and their gazes are tense as they look at each other, and it feels like they’re talking about something else entirely.  

Bella crashes into Stacie’s legs, and Aubrey tears her eyes away from Stacie’s as she drops down into a crouch.  

“Bye sweetheart,” Aubrey says, running a hand over Bella’s hair tenderly.  

The girl pouts but then she throws her arms around Aubrey’s neck.  

“Bye aunt Bree,” she mumbles and Aubrey genuinely thinks she’s going to miss this tiny girl, had gotten used to having her stuck to her side for three days. “‘m gonna miss you.”  

“I’ll see you soon, okay?” Aubrey says, and when she looks up to glance at Stacie, the brunette looks hopeful. “I promise.”  

She’s looking at Stacie as she says it and Stacie’s smile widens. Bella nods and finally lets go of Aubrey but hovers nearby as the woman stands up.  

“Let us know when you get home safely?” Stacie says and Aubrey nods. 

“It was really nice seeing you again.”  

“It was.”  

Aubrey wants to say something else, do something else, but they’ve already hugged goodbye and she doesn’t want to make this awkward, but Stacie is staring at her like she wants her to take that leap.  

“Bree, you ready to go?” Chloe calls out from the hallway and Aubrey turns her head towards the sound.  

“Have a safe flight,” Stacie says, but her voice is less soft, more formal and Aubrey tries not to think about it too much.  

“Thanks.”  

“Say bye, sweetie,” Stacie says, hand on Bella’s shoulder.  

“Bye sweetie!” the girl says and Aubrey laughs at that.  

“Bye Bella,” Aubrey says with a final ruffle of the girl’s hair. She quickly glances at Stacie, who’s smile is a little reserved as Bella finally steps away from Aubrey and moves closer towards Stacie.  

“Bye Stacie.”  

“Bye Aubrey.”  

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> look at that chapter count, my friends  
> It's not fully written yet but comments make me happy and a happy me means quicker writing ;)


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this is a long one, my friends so enjoy!  
> 

She’s not surprised to see that she has a message from Stacie, but she frowns when she sees that it’s not a picture file but an actual text, and she immediately reaches for her phone.  

‘ _Hey, I need your help with something xS_ ’  

She’s unlocking her phone when another text comes in, and this time she smiles because it’s a picture of Bella smiling cheekily at the camera.  

‘ _Sorry, forgot to lead with the usual picture_ ’ 

She texts back and says she’s available and then her phone is ringing, a selfie of Bella and Stacie flashing across her screen.  

“Hey you,” she answers, leaning back against her chair. “How’s my favourite Bella?”  

“See, I know you’re not talking about me and that hurts my feelings,” Stacie says and Aubrey laughs. “She’s good. I’m not disturbing you, right?”  

“I wouldn’t have answered if you were,” Aubrey gives and Stacie sighs and Aubrey just knows she’s rolling her eyes. “What’s up?”  

“I got a job offer,” Stacie starts and pauses, knows that Aubrey’s going to need to react to that.  

“Really? That’s amazing! Congratulations! What is it?”  

“It’s a teaching postdoc position. I didn’t think I wanted to stay in academia but it’s a great offer and they’re offering to fund my research so I’m inclined to take it.”  

“Professor Conrad,” Aubrey says and it elicits a laugh from Stacie. “So what’s the catch?”  

“Not a catch, per se. It’s in DC.”  

The line is quiet as Aubrey falters, heart rate jumping.  

“Aubrey?” Stacie urges softly and Aubrey suddenly realises she hasn’t said anything.  

“That’s great!” she says and it comes out a little more shrill than she’d planned. “Which school?”  

“Georgetown.”  

Her surprise at the news overrides anything she’d been thinking. “Wow, that’s incredible.”  

“It is,” Stacie confirms. “I’m kinda excited about it, to be honest. But I’ve been looking at places to live and it’s a little overwhelming.”  

Aubrey breathes out loudly in sympathy.  

“Yeah, it’s kind of a nightmare,” Aubrey admits and she knows it’s unhelpful when Stacie sighs deeply.  

“I was wondering if you had any tips or tricks on where to start?”  

“I can ask around for you,” Aubrey offers, bites her lip.  

“How did you find your place?”  

“I didn’t,” Aubrey starts. “It’s my parents’ house.”  

“You’re living with your parents?” Stacie asks in surprise because Aubrey doesn’t exactly strike her as the kind,  

“God, no,” Aubrey says quickly. “My dad is overseas.”  

Stacie falters, frowns, because there’s something missing there but she doesn’t want to pry.  

Aubrey stills when she realises that Stacie doesn’t know, and then curses herself for being so flippant about it, can feel the awkwardness through the phone.  

“I’ll ask around for you,” Aubrey says, desperate to move on and it snaps Stacie out of her thoughts.  

“Thank you,” Stacie says, but her voice still seems distracted.  

“You are going to take the job, right?” Aubrey asks, tries for a cheerful voice to ease Stacie’s concerns.  

“I want to, but I also have an offer here so if I don’t find a place I’m not going to uproot Bella.”  

“That’s reasonable,” Aubrey has to admit. “What’s your other offer?” 

“NYU,” Stacie says.  

“Yeah you definitely have to come to DC,” Aubrey says in mock seriousness and Stacie laughs.  

“I know.”  

“We’ll figure something out.”  

“Thanks Bree.”  

 

* * *

  

‘ _Hey, I’m going to be in New York for work next week. Want to meet up?’_

Aubrey stares at the text for a good ten minutes before she hits send. She’s in New York for work a lot, but she’s never thought to meet up with Stacie, hadn’t even considered it until Chloe had mentioned it at Bella’s birthday weekend get together. She barely has time to dwell on it before her phone pings with a text and she smiles before she even reads the text when she realises it’s Stacie, who has answered immediately.  

_‘Absolutely! When do you get in? You want to see Bella too, right? Where are you staying?’_

Aubrey laughs at Stacie’s eagerness but she’s secretly pleased with the response. 

 

* * *

 

The doorbell rings and Aubrey’s breath hitches. She quickly pulls off the apron she’s wearing and checks on the food she has on the stove before going to get the front door.  

“Hi guys,” she says, opening the door but then there’s a three-year-old pressed against her legs. “Hi Bella!”  

“Hi aunt Bree!” Bella says happily, and Aubrey peels her away so she can crouch down and give the girl a proper hug.  

“Have you gotten bigger since the last time I saw you?” Aubrey asks with an exaggeratedly pensive look but Bella’s nodding enthusiastically.  

“Uh-huh!”  

Aubrey grins and stands up, moving to the side to let the girl in, who runs off.  

“Hi,” Stacie says, leaning against the doorway with a soft smile.  

“Hey.” Aubrey lets herself get checked out by Stacie, returns the favour without shame. “Come in, dinner’s almost ready.”  

“You made dinner?” Stacie asks in surprise, pushing off from the doorjamb to follow Aubrey inside, closing the door behind her.  

Stacie sighs in exasperation when she sees Bella’s bag thrown in the middle of the hallway, reaches down and moves it to the side as she kicks off her shoes.  

“I always make dinner,” Aubrey says as an explanation. “Chloe doesn’t let me help out any other way, so…”  

Bella’s already found her toys in the living room and is playing with them, so Stacie follows Aubrey into the kitchen.  

“I wasn’t sure what to make for Bella,” Aubrey says with a soft frown and Stacie thinks she looks cute when she bites her lip in consideration.  

“Oh, she eats everything,” Stacie says with a quick wave of her hand.  

“Really?”  

“Oh yeah. The only thing she’s picky about is cereal so I let her get away with it.”  

“Even vegetables?” Aubrey asks, turns to the stove as Stacie settles on a barstool.  

“Yup. Loves broccoli. I think it’s super weird but hey I’m not complaining.”  

That makes Aubrey laugh.  

“What did you make?”  

“Just a simple risotto,” Aubrey says and Stacie knows her well enough to know she’s trying to downplay the effort that’s gone into it.  

“It smells amazing,” she compliments and Aubrey looks away with a blush. “Where are short and shorter?”  

Aubrey laughs loudly at that, the nickname hilariously accurate and Stacie can’t help but grin widely at her reaction.  

“Don’t tell them I call them that.”  

“It’ll be our secret,” Aubrey says with a quick wink. “They’re not home yet.”  

“How did you get in?” Stacie asks after Aubrey turns back to the stove to stir something.  

“Hm?”  

“How did you get into their house if they’re not here?”  

“With a key,” Aubrey says, glances at Stacie over her shoulder with a frown, puzzled by the odd question.  

“They gave you a key?” Stacie asks, affronted. “You live in DC!”  

“I’m here every other month,” Aubrey says with a shrug.  

“I don’t even have a key,” Stacie mutters, but then Aubrey’s statement registers. “Wait. You’re here every other month?”  

“For work,” Aubrey nods.  

“How long?”  

“What?”  

“For how long have you been coming that often?”  

Aubrey freezes, knows what Stacie’s asking and not sure how to answer her without hurting her feelings.  

“A little under a year,” she admits softly, a little ashamed by her own admission and its underlying implications.  

Stacie doesn’t respond, and Aubrey’s too afraid to turn around and face her so she focuses on the food she’s making, oblivious of the flurry of emotions going through Stacie behind her.  

When she finally does turn around to face Stacie, the woman looks resolute, and she’s staring intently at her phone, staring a little too hard to be actually reading something.  

“Stacie…”  

She looks up, shoots Aubrey a wry smile. “It’s okay, I understand.”  

The words make Aubrey frown because she’s not sure she even understands, so how can Stacie? 

“It was always pretty last minute and I knew you were busy with Bella, and—”  

“Aubrey, it’s fine,” Stacie interrupts her, even though her tone suggests it’s anything but. Stacie must be able to discern that Aubrey doesn’t quite believe her so she sighs and says, “It’s fine. You’re here now.”  

“Okay,” Aubrey says slowly, not believing her but not wanting to press the issue, a little disconcerted that Stacie can so easily brush off something that she’d clearly been hurt by.  

“Good.”  

“How’s the house hunting going?” Aubrey asks, trying desperately to move away from the subject, but she seems to have made things worse when Stacie groans loudly and drops her phone onto the counter, hiding her face in her newly freed hands. “That bad?”  

“Worse.”  

“When does the job start?”  

“Not until September but I’ve got so much stuff to arrange before that. And I have her,” Stacie says, points into the living room where they can hear Bella playing.  

“And the NYU offer?”  

“I turned it down.” Aubrey looks surprised at that. “The Georgetown post is too good to pass up.” 

“It’s going to be amazing,” Aubrey tries to encourage but Stacie just whines miserably.  

“I’ll be living under a bridge, but sure.”  

Aubrey wants to roll her eyes at the dramatics but then a thought occurs to her and she’s frozen as she thinks it through.  

A timer goes off but she’s so deep in thought that she doesn’t hear it.  

“Does that mean dinner’s ready?” Stacie says, and it shakes Aubrey out of her reverie and she nods. “Bella! Dinner!” 

* * *

Chloe comes home after they’ve finished dinner and if she’s surprised to find Stacie and Bella there, she doesn’t show it. She’s upstairs changing when she walks back into the bedroom and screams loudly when she finds Aubrey sitting on the bed, clearly waiting for her. 

“Not fun, is it?” Aubrey snarks, arches an eyebrow even though she’s here to ask for Chloe’s advice and starting them down this path will only get them distracted.  

“How long have you been waiting to do that?”  

“Thirteen years,” Aubrey says dryly and Chloe shakes her head, hand still pressed against her chest where her heart is beating a mile a minute.  

“That’s a long time, Bree,” Chloe chides.  

“I didn’t mean to surprise you,” Aubrey says, deflating slightly. “I just needed to talk to you.”  

“Is it about Stacie?” Chloe asks with interest.  

“Would it be weird if I offered to let her stay with me?  

“When?” Chloe’s frowning and understanding dawns on Aubrey as her eyes go wide.  

“Never mind,” she tries to say quickly but Chloe’s shaking her head, advancing on the blonde.  

“Where is Stacie going?”  

“You should really ask her,” Aubrey says, tries to get up but Chloe lunges at her, pins her down on the bed.  

“Chloe!” Aubrey says with a groan, the redhead having knocked the breath out of her. “We’re too old for this!”  

“Tell me!”  

“She’s moving to DC,” Aubrey says and it makes Chloe release her arms as she sits back on her haunches, still pinning Aubrey down with her body. “Can you get off me? The last thing I need is your fiancée walking in right now,” Aubrey grumbles and Chloe finally crawls off her.  

“Stacie’s moving?” Chloe says softly, and Aubrey’s trying to fix her shirt but at the sound of Chloe’s heartbroken voice she turns, finds the woman pouting. “Why didn’t she tell us?”  

“She only told me because she’s trying to find a place to live,” Aubrey tries to reassure.  

“Wait, did you say you want her to live with you?” Chloe asks, cocks her head sideways in consideration.  

“Forget about it,” Aubrey says, brushing off the issue, and Chloe doesn’t press further because she can see that Aubrey’s on the defensive now. 

* * *

“So, Stace,” Chloe starts casually after Stacie’s put Bella to bed. “What’s new with you?” 

Stacie frowns at the odd question, before cottoning on. She turns to Aubrey with a soft glare. “You told her.”  

“I didn’t know she didn’t know,” Aubrey says, holds up her hands in innocence.  

“Know what?” Chloe says, trying to innocently pretend she has no idea what’s going on but then the two other women turn their glares onto her.  

“I’m moving to DC.”  

“Really?” Chloe says, exaggeration dripping from her words.  

“I got offered a position at Georgetown and I took it.”  

“Congratulations!” Chloe says, but her expression belies the truth. “When do you leave?”  

“I don’t even know. I have to find a place first.” Stacie looks crushed by the words and it makes Chloe temporarily forget her own disappointment in the woman leaving.  

“Why don’t you stay with Aubrey?” Chloe says and then Aubrey’s shooting her daggers, eyes wide with panic.  

Aubrey seems to relax when Stacie shakes her head and scoffs softly.  

“Chloe, you can’t just offer up somebody else’s house,” Stacie says with a laugh.  

Chloe shrugs and opens her mouth to say something but Aubrey’s glaring at her, shaking her head and the redhead snaps her mouth shut.  

* * *

They’re standing side by side in the guest bathroom, Aubrey rubbing moisturiser on her face while Stacie brushes her teeth. 

“You’re more than welcome to, you know,” Aubrey says softly, turns around so she’s leaning against the bathroom counter.  

Stacie frowns at her in confusion.  

“You can stay with me until you find a place,” Aubrey explains and then Stacie’s expression softens.  

“Aubrey,” she mumbles around her toothbrush.  

“It’s not like I don’t have the space and I’m sure it would be easier for you to find a house in DC if you’re physically there to look for one,” Aubrey muses aloud.  

Stacie spits out her toothpaste, rinses her mouth and toothbrush. 

“You don’t have to feel obliged to offer,” Stacie presses but Aubrey frowns at her. “You don’t have to honour Chloe’s offer,” Stacie explains and Aubrey’s expression shifts into one of comprehension.  

“She knew that I would be okay with it,” Aubrey says softly, shrugs one shoulder and Stacie watches her closely, looks for any sign that Aubrey is doing this out of politeness.  

“I can’t move in with you,” Stacie whispers and something in Aubrey’s eyes shift and they both know what they’re alluding to.  

“Let me help you out as a friend,” Aubrey replies softly and it feels like they’re stuck, trying to talk around their history.  

“I have Bella.”  

It makes Aubrey hesitate, and it’s enough for Stacie to notice and raise an eyebrow as if to say “see?”  

Aubrey doesn’t want things to get more complicated between them, but she also doesn’t want Stacie to give up a great opportunity if she can help it.  

“I have seven bedrooms,” Aubrey replies and Stacie tilts her head inquisitively because they both know that’s not the issue here. “You can even stay in the pool house if that makes you more comfortable.”  

The offer makes a smile twitch on Stacie’s face as she considers the words.  

“Pool house?” she asks, but Aubrey’s turning away to reach for the body lotion. “How big is your house?”  

Aubrey glances at her through the mirror, shoots her a wry smile.  

“It’s big enough,” Aubrey says softly and that sparks even more questions in Stacie.  

She opens her mouth to say something but then Aubrey turns around again.  

“Just think of it as a summer vacation home while you look for a place in DC.”  

“It won’t be weird?” Stacie whispers, faltering.  

“Why should it be?” Aubrey replies strongly, and they’re staring at each other intently again. 

“And you won’t mind having my loud and energetic three-year-old in the house?”  

The words make Aubrey laugh and it breaks the tension.  

“Not at all. It’ll be nice to have some life in the house,” Aubrey answers. “Plus I’ll be at work most of the time.” 

“There it is,” Stacie teases with a cheeky grin, but then Aubrey’s quieting down again and her head is swirling with all of the reasons this is a bad idea.  

“Just consider it,” Aubrey says softly.  

“I’ll think about it,” Stacie replies, but Aubrey doesn’t look like she believes her. “Really.”  

She still seems doubtful, but then Stacie can see her let it go as she smiles softly.  

“Okay,” she says. “Good night, Stacie.”  

“Good night, Aubrey.”  

Aubrey smiles at her one last time before leaving the bathroom and when the door closes behind her, Stacie plants both hands against the counter and sighs deeply, unaware that Aubrey’s pressed against the wall next to the bathroom door and doing the same. 

 

* * *

 

Three weeks after she gets home from New York, Aubrey wakes up to a text message from Stacie. It’s not a picture of Bella, it’s just one word and her heart jumps into her throat when she reads it.  

_‘Okay.'_

 

* * *

 

It’s Friday, and when she decides to work from home she tells herself it’s just in case they arrive early, but it’s really because she’s too scatterbrained to focus all day and she’s sure that somebody would have noticed at the office.  

She’s jittery all day and has to actively work to calm herself down when Stacie calls to say they’re twenty minutes away. She’s working out of the large study room at the front corner of the house so she sees Stacie drive up to the house and she’s out of her chair in a flash.  

Stacie’s barely even honked once before the front door is opening and Aubrey steps out, walks down the front steps of the house with a wide smile. Stacie takes advantage of still being in her car and lets her gaze trail down the blonde’s body, surprised by the shorts and t-shirt that Aubrey’s wearing, looking extremely casual with her hair in a ponytail and Stacie realises she’s never seen Aubrey look this dressed down.  

It isn’t until she’s killing the engine and getting out of the car that the thought hits her that she’s going to be seeing a lot more of Aubrey like this.  

“Hey,” Aubrey calls out and Bella catches sight of the woman and completely lights up. She’s banging her palm against the window of the car to get Aubrey’s attention and Aubrey smiles, waves at the girl. 

“Hey you,” Stacie says, rounding the car and making it to the back passenger door at the same time as Aubrey, pulls the woman into a loose hug. “I wasn’t sure we had the right address when I turned on this street,” she teases and Aubrey rolls her eyes, turns away from Stacie to rap her knuckles against the window where Bella’s still impatiently patting the glass.  

“Hi sweetheart,” Aubrey says as she opens the car door.  

Bella’s beaming at her, buzzing with excitement. Her hands tug at the straps of her booster seat as she wriggles against them.  

“Lemme out please!” Bella pleads and Aubrey takes pity on her, leans in to unclasp the girl from her carseat harness.  

“Do you mind carrying her inside? She’s not wearing shoes for some reason,” Stacie says and Aubrey chuckles when she looks down at the girl’s bare feet before nodding at Stacie.  

“Where did your shoes go?” Aubrey teases, takes advantage of Bella’s lack of footwear as she runs her nails under Bella’s foot, eliciting peals of laughter from the girl.  

“Hi aunt Bree!” Bella finally manages through her giggles.  

“Come on, you,” Aubrey says, finally getting the girl free and lifting Bella out of the car, settling her on her hip. Bella immediately curls into her, wraps her arms around Aubrey’s neck.  

Aubrey closes the car door and waits for Stacie to grab her bag before leading them inside. She sets Bella down once they’re in the entry hall, and the girl shoots away to explore.  

“Stay close, Bella!” Stacie calls out but it’s too late, the girl is already gone.  

Stacie looks around the house with wide eyes.  

“Jeez Bree, you grew up here?” Stacie can’t help but ask.  

“No, not really,” Aubrey answers, leads Stacie through to the living room. “I grew up on Army bases.”  

Stacie hums in understanding.  

“How was the drive?”  

“It was alright once Bella fell asleep,” Stacie says with a laugh.  

“Do you want a tour of the house?” Aubrey offers while Stacie’s looking around the house in awe.  

“I think I need one. Is there a map included?”  

Aubrey rolls her eyes, but she nudges Stacie with her arm.  

“Come on.”  

 

* * *

 

Stacie realises pretty quickly how amazing it is to live with Aubrey.  

She’s always relied on a support system of friends and absolutely loved living with the Bellas for three years, and had relied heavily on Beca and Chloe once she’d had Bella and moved to New York to be closer to family, but she’d still been at it mostly alone, and single motherhood wasn’t easy.  

Living with Aubrey is like a breath of fresh air, the woman always helping out with Bella and Stacie quickly sees how great it is to raise a kid with not just another person, but with Aubrey specifically.  

Aubrey plans meticulously for everything and the house is never in total disarray — and she even plans for the chaos of having a small child in the house. It’s a little startling to see how easily Aubrey adjusts to planning Bella and Stacie into her life, and Stacie doesn’t quite realise how much Aubrey thinks of them until she thinks they’re out of Bella’s favourite juice one afternoon and Aubrey offhandedly tells her to go get some from the garage.  

She’s standing in the section of the garage that they use for storage between shelves stocked with not only Bella’s favourite juice, but also Stacie’s preferred brand of shampoo and conditioner, Bella’s favourite bubblebath and a box of the granola bars that Stacie’s been obsessed with.  

She’s a little startled by it, by the amount of consideration that goes into something like this and her heart almost bursts. 

When she’s back in the kitchen, she hands Bella the juice and steps behind Aubrey who’s standing at the counter looking at a recipe. She doesn’t hesitate to wrap her arms around Aubrey, knows that they don’t usually touch this much but not sure how else to express her immense gratitude.  

“You’re the best,” she whispers into Aubrey’s ear and tries to ignore the way Aubrey leans back into the hug with a smile and a blush.  

“It’s no trouble,” Aubrey tries to say but Stacie shakes her head, refuses to let Aubrey brush this off.  

“Still, I appreciate you so much,” Stacie says.  

“Uh-oh.”  

Stacie lets go of Aubrey at the sound of the three-year-old’s voice and both turn to the girl, who’s holding her juicebox in one hand, the straw in the other, and is covered in juice.  

Aubrey laughs at the sight and Stacie pulls away with a sigh.  

“What did you do, bubba?” Stacie asks, walks towards the girl.  

“I poked-ed it!” Bella explains, holds up the carton and unintentionally squirts some juice on Stacie.  

Aubrey laughs again, pretends to school her features when Stacie turns to her with a betrayed look.  

“Let’s go get you changed,” Stacie says, turning back to Bella. 

 

* * *

 

“Hey Aubrey,” Stacie says as she walks into the living room where Aubrey is reading, her voice extremely casual and Aubrey’s already suspicious.  

“Yes?” She puts down her book, looks up at Stacie.  

“Quick question,” Stacie says says lightly, voice a little too high-pitched to be natural. “You don’t happen to have cats, do you?”  

“I would have told you when you moved in if I did. We don’t, my dad’s allergic,” Aubrey explains, narrows her eyes at the brunette. “Why?”  

“Oh, no reason,” Stacie says but her tone wildly contradicts her and Aubrey scrutinises her closely.  

Stacie backs away slowly for three steps, before abruptly turning and running up the stairs. Aubrey chucks her book to the side and gets up, running after Stacie. She frowns when she makes it up the stairs and sees Stacie standing in the open doorway of Bella’s bedroom, walks closer and looks over Stacie’s shoulder, eyes going wide at the sight.  

Bella is splayed on the floor, a cat on either side of her and she’s petting both of them at the same time, smile wide and content as the cats purr and cuddle closer to her.  

“Bella?” Stacie says softly and the girl lifts her head enough to look at the two adults crowding the doorway. “What are you doing?”  

“I’m petting Mo and Pizza,” Bella says, as if it’s the most obvious thing in the world. The cat on her left, a black cat with white paws, pushes its head into Bella’s side and purrs loudly, making the girl giggle.  

“Are Mo and Pizza your new friends?” Stacie asks patiently and Bella nods.  

“This is Mo,” Bella says, puts her hand on the black cat’s head, “And this is Pizza,” she adds, petting the calico cat on her right side.  

“Baby where did you find Mo and Pizza?” Stacie asks.  

“Outside.”  

Bella giggles loudly when Pizza the cat crawls over her and settles right on top of Bella’s legs.  

“Did _you_ bring them inside?”  

“Uh-huh. They looked hungry,” Bella says and Stacie looks over her shoulder, exchanges a panicked look with Aubrey.  

“Did you give them anything to eat?”  

“Yup! Gol-fish crackers!” Mo moves to curl up next to Bella’s neck, purrs when the girl keeps petting its head.  

“How do you know their names are Mo and Pizza?” Aubrey cuts in when Stacie falls quiet and reaches up to pinch the bridge of her nose.  

“I dunno,” Bella says, shrugs, but the effect is a little diluted on account of her being splayed on the floor.  

“You know we can’t keep them, right?” Stacie says and Bella actually gasps, eyes filling with angry tears as her hands still.  

Both cats purr and bump their heads against Bella for more petting and the girl resumes petting them, a little bit more hesitantly than before.  

“Why not?”  

“Because they have homes,” Stacie says, finally moves into the room and drops to her knees next to Bella.  

“But I love them,” Bella says sadly, juts out her lower lip pitifully.  

“Somebody else loves them too, and probably misses them terribly,” Stacie argues, knows that she’s right based on how well-fed and healthy the cats look and how docile they are with Bella. She reaches out with her hand, softly pets Mo and uses the opportunity to check the cat’s neck, finger hooking into the collar she finds almost immediately and reading the small metal tag.  

Stacie frowns, head reeling back a bit when she reads that Mo is actually called Ophelia. She quickly reaches out to pet Pizza, repeats the motions and finds the name tag, frowns even deeper when it turns out Pizza’s real name is Guinevere.  

“Look, Bella, they have collars,” Aubrey says softly, still standing in the doorway, leaning against the doorjamb. “We have to take them to their real home. Their mommy must be missing them.”  

Bella sits up with Pizza still in her lap and Mo comes trotting around her, settles next to her legs.  

“I don’t wanna.”  

“If you went to another house and found another mommy, I would miss you a lot,” Stacie says, runs her hand over Bella’s hair. “Would you miss me?”  

“Yes,” Bella admits softly.   

“So you understand why we have to take Pizza and Mo home?”  

“Yes.” Even though Bella nods, she looks like she’s about to cry at any moment and Aubrey finally steps forward, checks Mo’s tag and smiles.  

“They belong to Mrs Walker from down the street,” Aubrey says softly. Mo curls closer to her hand and Aubrey smiles as she scratches behind the cat’s ear, the purring becoming louder.  

“Should we go take them back?” Stacie asks, softly rubbing Bella’s back as the girl looks down at the cat in her lap sadly.  

“Okay,” Bella says softly.  

Aubrey picks up Mo, who easily curls up in her arms and Stacie reaches for Pizza, lifting the cat off Bella’s lap so the girl can stand up. Aubrey leads them out of Bella’s bedroom and down the stairs, exchanges a quick, amused look with Stacie when Bella sighs dejectedly. She quickly detours to grab her keys from the kitchen as Bella and Stacie step outside, and she locks the front door behind her.  

“Where are we going?” Stacie asks, smiles softly when Pizza nuzzles her neck with a purr.  

“Just two doors down,” Aubrey says, pointing to her left and they slowly make their way down the driveway and along the sidewalk. 

Bella looks completely heartbroken, scuffs her feet as she walks and she’s pouting fiercely, and it really shouldn’t be amusing but Aubrey can’t help but laugh, feels guilty about it until she meets Stacie’s eyes and sees that the woman is suppressing a small smile.  

“I feel like we’ve been walking forever,” Stacie teases and Aubrey rolls her eyes, points to a large house.  

“It’s right here,” Aubrey says.  

Pizza squirms in Stacie’s arms and Stacie crouches down a little to let the cat go, wary of the street, but the cat doesn’t go far, just circles Bella’s legs insistently and it makes the girl giggle as she almost trips.  

She stops and Pizza stops in front of Bella, purring. “Can I hold him?” Bella asks, looking up at Stacie with her puppy dog eyes.  

“Only if he wants to be held, baby,” Stacie says, but when she reaches down to place Pizza in Bella’s arms, the cat doesn’t fuss at all, settles into Bella’s arms. “Be careful and don’t squeeze too hard, okay?”  

“Okay,” Bella says and they start walking again. Aubrey walks ahead when they walk up the driveway and rings the bell, and an older woman comes to the door, lights up when she sees Aubrey.  

“Hello dear!” she says, frowns when she sees the cat in Aubrey’s arms. “Is that my Ophelia?”  

“Hi, Mrs Walker,” Aubrey says with a polite smile. “It is. We also have Guinevere.”  

The older woman looks past Aubrey at a sad-looking Bella and a sheepish Stacie.  

“Bella found them in our backyard and took them in,” Aubrey explains. “They became fast friends,” Aubrey says tenderly, shifting Mo in her arms so she can reach out and caress Bella’s hair.  

“Mercy me, I don’t even know what they were doing outside!” Mrs Walker says, before turning to Bella with a wide smile. “Thank you for taking care of them for me.”  

Bella lights up, a smile widening across her face.  

“Are you going to introduce yourself, sweetie?” Stacie says, nudging the girl forwards and Bella nods.  

“I’m Bella,” she says, and Stacie’s taught her well because she can see her daughter struggle with the next step, arms full of cat but wanting to politely stick out her hand for a handshake.  

“Nice to meet you, Bella, I’m Mrs Walker.”  

“Nice to meet you,” Bella says politely and the older woman smiles.  

“Hi,” Stacie says, steps forwards and offers her hand. “I’m Stacie.”  

The woman shakes her hand with a smile, shoots a suspicious glance at Aubrey.  

“They’re staying with me for the summer,” Aubrey explains simply and the woman nods in understanding.  

“Thank you for bringing back Ophelia and Guinevere,” Mrs Walker says and Bella frowns in confusion at the names, looks up at Stacie for clarification but Stacie’s looking away, hiding a smile.  

“You have to say goodbye now, Bella,” Aubrey urges softly and the girl looks sad again.  

She buries her face in Pizza’s fur, pets the cat and hugging it carefully before bending down and letting the cat into the house. “Bye Pizza.”  

Aubrey crouches down and Bella hugs Mo, burying her face in fur again and quickly petting the cat. “Bye Mo.”  

Mrs Walker smiles as the two cats make their way inside and she bids them goodbye, closes the door as Bella, Aubrey, and Stacie turn to walk back to their house.  

They’re walking down the driveway when they realise Bella isn’t with them, has turned back and is up the porch in a flash, banging her tiny fists against the front door and Aubrey and Stacie both turn in a panic, racing to catch up with the girl. 

Mrs Walker opens the front door, looks puzzled as she gazes down at the small girl.  

“Missus Walker? Can I play with Mo and Pizza?” Bella asks and she looks so hopeful that the woman’s expression softens.  

“She renamed them,” Stacie explains quickly.  

“I’m so sorry,” Aubrey whispers.  

“You don’t have to say yes,” Stacie adds quickly but the woman waves away the words with a smile. 

“How about this, little one. How about we set up some playdates for you to come over and play with the cats?”  

Bella’s eyes go wide with excitement as she nods, and she looks up at Stacie looking hopeful, pats Stacie’s leg insistently. “Please, mommy, please please please please please.”  

“Okay,” Stacie says and Bella looks like she’s going to burst with happiness. “Whatever is best for you,” Stacie says, looking at the woman.  

“Monday and Friday afternoons?”  

“Sounds great,” Stacie says with a sincere smile. “Thank you so much,” Stacie whispers earnestly and the older woman smiles tenderly.  

“It’s no problem dear.”  

“Say thank you, Bella,” Aubrey encourages.  

“Thank you missus Walker,” Bella says eagerly, bouncing on her feet.  

“I will see you Monday afternoon,” the woman says down at Bella and the girl nods fiercely, hair flying around her face.  

“We’ll leave you to it. Have a nice afternoon,” Aubrey says as they all bid their goodbyes.  

“Bye girls!” the older woman says with a warm smile.  

Bella slips her left hand into Aubrey’s and her right hand into Stacie’s, swings her hands happily as they walk back to the house and Stacie can’t help but smile down at her daughter, and thinks _what a charmer_. 

 

* * *

 

She comes down one Sunday morning in late July dressed in running shorts and a tank top and stops in the doorway to the kitchen when she sees Aubrey, elbows against the counter and hands holding up her head as she stares at the coffee maker intently. She’s bent at the hip and she’s only wearing underwear and a loose camisole and Stacie freezes, flushes because it’s a _very_ flattering angle.  

She can’t stop staring at Aubrey’s long, smooth legs, and she feels like a creep but she can’t tear her eyes away.  

The coffee maker finally starts spluttering out coffee and the sound is what snaps Stacie out of her heated stare, and she has to clear her throat, doesn’t quite trust her voice not to crack.  

“Morning Bree,” she says, stepping into the kitchen.  

Aubrey turns her head, keeps her chin on her hands and doesn’t straighten, shoots a smile at Stacie.  

“Are you going to have coffee?” Stacie says playfully, walks towards the fridge to get her water bottle out.  

Aubrey doesn’t look like she’s entirely awake yet, and she doesn’t even seem to register Stacie’s words so she takes pity on the blonde, grabbing a mug and filling it with coffee. She drops two sugar cubes into the cup and stirs it before sliding it over to Aubrey.  

“Thanks,” she says, voice thick with sleep and Stacie feels a thrill at the sound of the hoarse tone.  

Aubrey frowns when she seems to finally register Stacie’s outfit.  

“You’re going for a run? In this heat?” Her face is scrunched up in confusion, and Stacie has to hide her smile by sipping from her water bottle.  

“Just a bit. I’ve missed running,” Stacie says and Aubrey nods in understanding because they’ve already had this talk. “Thought I’d go before my tiny tornado wakes up.”  

That elicits a laugh from Aubrey. “Go, I’ll be here if she wakes up.”  

“Will you actually be awake?” Stacie teases and Aubrey narrows her eyes at her.  

The effect is a little dulled by Aubrey breaking eye contact to yawn and Stacie laughs.  

“Thanks, Bree. I’ll see you later.”  

“Mhm-hmm,” is all she gets and Stacie grins before leaving.  

When she comes back from her run, it’s almost an hour later and she feels a little guilty because Bella must be up by now and even though Aubrey’s awake and had offered to watch her, Stacie still doesn’t want Aubrey to think she’s taking advantage of the situation. She pushes open the front door, expecting to hear the two up and playing or having breakfast or even singing, but the house is eerily quiet. 

Dropping her keys by the door, she kicks off her runners and goes in search of the two. She walks through the kitchen and living room, even tries the study but they’re not there so she goes upstairs. Bella’s bedroom door is open but when Stacie peeks inside, the three-year-old isn’t there. She checks her own bedroom, and when she comes up empty she frowns. She finally walks over to Aubrey’s bedroom, quietly pushes the door open and completely melts at the sight.  

Aubrey’s asleep in bed with Bella sprawled across her and the image they create is almost too cute for Stacie to handle. Aubrey’s hair is loose and Bella’s face is buried in Aubrey’s neck, small fingers tangled in the wild blonde strands of hair. Aubrey’s face is turned towards Bella, lower half covered by Bella’s own messy hair and she has an arm wrapped loosely around Bella’s body to keep her close.  

They’re both fast asleep and breathing deeply, so Stacie doesn’t hesitate to unstrap her phone from the running band it’s in and snap a couple of pictures of the two.  

It’s not until she’s checking to make sure the pictures are okay that she notices how much Bella could actually pass as Aubrey’s child. Bella has really light brown hair with natural highlights and there’s something about the slope of her nose and cheekbones that makes her look similar to Aubrey.  

Stacie is loathe to leave the sweet picture they make, but she’s sweaty and she feels gross so she quickly leaves to take a shower. When she comes back twenty minutes later, comfortably clad in shorts and a soft tee, they’re still asleep. She hesitates by the edge of the bed, a little reluctant to get onto the bed because it feels like an intrusion, like it’s a little _too_ intimate.  

She barters with herself and finally makes up her mind, slides onto Aubrey’s bed but not under the sheets, settles with her back against the headboard and starts reading on her tablet.  

Stacie is so engrossed in her book that she doesn’t even notice that she starts running her fingers across Aubrey’s scalp until she hears a soft moan of contentment. Glancing away from the tablet, she looks down at Aubrey, whose eyes are still closed but has a smile on her face as Stacie drags her fingers through Aubrey’s hair.  

“Hm,” she hums softly, leans into the touch. “That’s nice.”  

“Good morning again, sleepyhead,” Stacie whispers, careful not to wake Bella but the girl doesn’t stir, even as Aubrey softly rubs circles over her back. “She’s really out of it.”  

A flicker of a smile ghosts across Aubrey’s face. “She woke up ten minutes after you left looking for cuddles,” Aubrey comments, shifts slightly so she can press a quick kiss to Bella’s forehead. “And she’s a tiny heater like you so I couldn’t resist.”  

“I keep forgetting that you’re always cold,” Stacie says with a soft chuckle and Aubrey’s eyes finally flutter open to lock with hers, both of them pausing at the implication behind Stacie’s words.  

“How was your run?” Aubrey asks, closing her eyes again.  

“Really nice. I should do it more often, I forgot how much I enjoy the exercise.”  

“You should,” Aubrey says with a loud yawn. “Or you could come to pilates with me.”  

The teasing words are all the confirmation Stacie needs that Aubrey is now wide awake and she narrows her eyes at the blonde even though Aubrey can’t see it.  

“No way, last time I did pilates with you I thought I was going to die,” Stacie says.  

“That was ten years ago,” Aubrey argues, trying not to laugh.  

“Yeah and I was in better shape then than I am now. Just because I’m flexible doesn’t mean I’m good at pilates,” Stacie grumbles and Aubrey laughs, careful not to shake Bella too much.  

“What are you up to tomorrow?” Aubrey asks as she absentmindedly cards her fingers through Bella’s unruly hair.  

“I was going to take her to the zoo,” Stacie says and Aubrey’s quick with a smile. “They have a fish feeding session in the morning.”  

“Oh, she’ll love that,” Aubrey comments easily and the conversation feels strangely intimate and Stacie has a sudden flash of doing this with Aubrey ten years down the line.  

She tries not to dwell on that line of thought too much as Aubrey sighs, cuddles closer to Bella and Stacie goes back to reading, hand still running through Aubrey’s hair as hope blooms in her chest.  

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> leave me comments because they make me happy and that means I write more (plus I like knowing what you guys like!)


	3. Chapter 3

It’s an unnaturally hot Saturday in August, so when Aubrey calls out that she’s going grocery shopping, Stacie thinks of the cool, air-conditioned store and cheerfully asks to join.  

Bella has been going to the store with Aubrey every Saturday since they first moved in and the habit intrigues Stacie. They both dress up for it and always return full of giggles and generally brighter moods, and it makes Stacie wonder what exactly goes down during the weekly grocery store run that has made Aubrey and Bella thick as thieves. 

Bella is wearing a cute, patterned romper with sandals and Aubrey looks amazing in one of her shorter summer dresses and wedges. When Stacie asks to join them, they stop in the living room and she feels a little uncomfortable with the way they’re both scrutinising her outfit. She never thought she’d be ganged up on by her daughter and her closest friend but it’s been happening more and more often and she’s not sure she likes it. 

Aubrey purses her lips and Bella is downright frowning, so she looks down at what she’s wearing and she has to admit, her short denim shorts and basic spaghetti strap top don’t really match with Bella and Aubrey so she sighs defeatedly. 

“You can keep the shorts but you need to change that top,” Aubrey admits, smiling sardonically and Stacie glares at her. 

“And heels!” Bella chimes in with a smile, bouncing on her feet. 

“We’re going to Costco, I’m not wearing heels,” Stacie barters and Aubrey rolls her eyes but nods in acceptance. 

Bella crosses her arms, tilts her head and says “Fine,” and _oh, god_ , Aubrey was so right to call Bella a threenager.  

She runs upstairs and ends up changing into a pair of high-waisted denim shorts and tucks a silks blouse into it. It’s Aubrey’s blouse that she’d borrowed — stolen — a few weeks ago and the blonde hasn’t said anything about it yet. Throwing on a pair of dressy sandals, she joins the two downstairs and while Bella is frowning at her footwear, Aubrey assesses her outfit and smiles softly.  

“You look perfect.”  

As she follows the two out the door, Stacie realises that Aubrey’s heels put her exactly at her eye level and it sends a shiver of excitement down Stacie’s spine.  

Bella slips a hand into Aubrey’s left and the other one in Stacie’s right hand and suddenly Stacie is overcome with the realisation that this feels like a family outing and now she understands the coordinated outfit thing.  

Aubrey swings Bella into her car seat with a laugh, strapping her in while Bella tells her all about the fish she learned about at the aquarium. Stacie’s already buckled into her seatbelt when Aubrey slides into the driver’s seat and as she’s putting on her seatbelt she says, “Okay sweetie,” and it takes Stacie a hot second to realise Aubrey isn’t talking to her. 

“One, two or three?” 

“Three!” Bella happily calls out and it seems to surprise Aubrey enough to make her turn in her seat to look at the three-year-old. 

“You sure?” 

“Uh-huh!” Bella says with a nod and Stacie is completely confused. 

With a deep sigh, Aubrey reaches towards the center console and plucks out a CD and pops it into the CD player. Turn The Beat Around starts playing over the speakers and Stacie turns to Aubrey with a wide, surprised grin, finds the blonde’s cheeks a little pink as she studiously avoids Stacie’s eyes and puts the car in drive. 

Stacie turns to her daughter who’s happily clapping her hands to the beat while attempting to shimmy in her car seat, only managing to move her shoulders a little back and forth but she seems happy, occasionally singing along brokenly with the song. 

“She never picks this CD,” Aubrey confesses softly as they pull out of the driveway. 

“What does she usually pick? What are the other options?” 

“The first CD is a bunch of songs from musicals and the second one has Disney songs, she usually picks that one.” 

“And this one?”  

Aubrey quickly glances at Stacie, finds that the brunette’s wide grin hasn’t abated one bit.  

“Bella songs.”  

Stacie doesn’t say anything, bites her lower lip to keep her mouth shut because she knows this is their tradition and she doesn’t want to intrude, doesn’t want to be banned from coming along in the future.  

It’s a short drive and they pull into the supermarket soon enough. When Stacie grabs a cart, Bella’s already holding her arms up to be lifted into the cart. Aubrey is digging through her purse for something while Stacie pushes the cart, and Stacie is surprised when, as they’re walking into Costco, Bella waves at the guard near the entrance and cheerfully says, “Hi Frank!”  

Aubrey looks up in time to smile at Frank who shoots her a smile in return and waves at Bella. Aubrey produces a ziploc filled with blueberries and hands them to the girl who takes the bag with a frown on her face.  

“What’re these?” she asks, holding up the clear bag and peering at the contents.  

“Blueberries,” Aubrey explains, dropping her purse into the cart. Bella’s face scrunches up, but when Aubrey opens the ziploc and hands one to her, her expression softens. “I think you’ll really like them. I just want you to try one.”  

“Ooh, you brought snacks?” Stacie asks excitedly, hand reaching out to pick a blueberry.  

Before her hand even gets close to Bella, Aubrey slaps it away.  

“Those aren’t for you,” Aubrey says sternly and Stacie gapes at her in surprise.  

Her outrage is slightly exaggerated but genuine because Aubrey just slapped her hand away hard.  

“Here ya go mama,” Bella says, extending a blueberry to her.  

Stacie narrows her eyes at Aubrey. “Can I take it or are you going to slap me again?”  

“Go ahead,” Aubrey says with an eye-roll.  

She holds eye contact with Aubrey as she takes the offered berry and pops it in her mouth, moaning exaggeratedly. “They’re delicious.”  

Aubrey lightly shakes her head with fond exasperation, watches out of the corner of her eye as Bella watches the interaction and sneakily eats a blueberry. She’s frowning as she bites down but then her eyes light up and Aubrey knows she’s got her.  

“Do you like it?” Aubrey asks the girl, who nods in response. “Do you have my grocery list?”  

“Uh-huh!” Bella says and Stacie watches with wide eyes as Bella pulls a folded piece of paper from her pocket, unfolds it carefully and holds it out for Aubrey to read.  

“Thank you,” Aubrey says, reads through the list quickly as they make their way down the first aisle.  

Stacie watches them interact with rapt interest, watches as Bella helpfully holds out the list for Aubrey to read every aisle, legs swinging happily under her. Aubrey has a pen in her hand and she strikes through each item as she grabs it, occasionally even lets Bella scratch off some items after she’s finished all her blueberries. They’re chatting non-stop and Stacie has trouble getting a word in as the conversation hops from one topic to the other.  

She can see Bella start to get restless about halfway through the grocery store and she exchanges a quick glance with Aubrey who slyly mimics lifting Bella out of the cart. Stacie smiles as Aubrey leans in and asks if she can hold the grocery list, which Bella happily hands over.  

“Do you want to walk around for a little bit?” Stacie asks and Bella nods.  

“Yes please,” Bella answers, so Stacie easily lifts the girl onto the floor. She’s about to crouch down to ask Bella to stay close when the girl grabs hold of the side of the cart, and even when she flits around it she keeps a hand touching the metal at all times and Stacie turns to Aubrey with an impressed look.  

“She knows the drill,” Aubrey says with a quick chuckle when she sees Stacie staring at her reverently.  

“I could have used you when we were potty training,” Stacie says with a grin and Aubrey laughs. 

“I only need a pack of gum from this aisle,” Aubrey says, points to the stock before looking down at Bella. “Do you two want to go get it while I pick out some frozen fruits?”  

Bella nods and slips her hand into Stacie’s.  

Aubrey smiles as she watches the two all but skip down the aisle before turning to the freezers, trying to figure out which frozen packets she needs before opening the cooler.  

“Hi there.”  

Aubrey looks up in surprise at the voice because it’s hasn’t even been two minutes and she’s already been approached, and the man who’d spoken is all but leering at her.  

“Hi,” she says with a polite smile. “I’m almost done,” she adds, tries to subtly give off the vibe that she’s not interested. He’s pretty handsome, but he’s not at all her type and his grin is wolfish as he lets his eyes drop down her body and back up.  

“Oh, I don’t mind waiting for a beautiful woman like yourself,” he says with a half smile and Aubrey’s body is turned towards the freezer so she takes the opportunity to roll her eyes. She tries to look over the man’s shoulder, doesn’t like how she’s been cornered into the freezers and she’s trying to find Stacie but the woman is too far away and has her back to Aubrey.  

Stacie is looking over the chewing gum options when Bella tugs at her hand and asks, “Who’s that?”  

She looks up to find Aubrey talking to a big, beefy dude and she frowns, ready to go back and break it up before she realises that she’s not sure that would be welcome. All of a sudden she’s replaying the past few weeks in her head, tries to remember if Aubrey’s even been out on a date and whether she and Bella might be hindering Aubrey’s dating life, but she doesn’t get too far down that rabbit-hole because big beefy dude shifts and she makes eye contact with Aubrey, who looks desperate to be saved.  

Stacie turns back to the chewing gum and grabs the first packet she sees, leads Bella back to Aubrey before slowing to a halt halfway down the aisle as an idea occurs to her. She crouches down in front of Bella, hands the girl the chewing gum.  

“I have a secret mission for you,” Stacie whispers and Bella’s eyes light up. “I want you to go over there and call aunt Bree ‘mommy’ for me.”  

Bella frowns. “But you’re my mommy.”  

It warms Stacie’s heart but she doesn’t have time to dwell on how precious her child is. “Just as a fun game, okay?”  

Bella still seems suspicious but she holds the gum against her small body and turns to go. She looks over her shoulder with an unsure expression and Stacie encourages her with a thumbs up as she follows closely behind.  

She tugs her hair free from its ponytail and shakes her head, runs a hand through her hair to loosen the strands and give them volume before unbuttoning an extra button on her blouse.

Bella squeezes between big beefy dude and Aubrey, looks up at the blonde who’s sighing in relief and with a cheery smile asks, “Mama, can I sit?”  

Aubrey frowns at her new, unexpected title but lifts Bella into the cart anyway and the guy looks bewildered at the interaction, takes a step back in surprise.  

Before he can say anything, Stacie has taken advantage of the newly created space and slips right into it, sliding her arm around Aubrey’s waist and leaning in, pressing her lips to Aubrey’s in a shallow but lingering kiss. Stacie almost forgets what she’s going to say when Aubrey chases her lips with a soft exhale and melts against her, almost reluctant to let her go.  

“Babe, we couldn’t find the one you like so I just got generic,” Stacie says quickly, clears her throat and stares straight at a slightly dazed Aubrey, makes sure to stay closely pressed against the blonde’s side, arm firmly around her.  

Aubrey doesn’t answer her, is staring at her lips and she’s distracted by Stacie’s thumb softly rubbing back and forth over her hip.  

The guy clears her throat and three pairs of eyes turn to look at him, and Stacie frowns, wonders what he’s still doing there and why he can’t take a hint.  

“Hi!” Bella says with a smile and a wave and Stacie closes her eyes at the words. Bella is a bold child, friendly to everybody, strangers and family alike and Stacie knows that Bella’s friendliness is going to cause her headaches down the line, knows that Bella’s charm is the universe’s way of karmic retribution for all the promiscuous deeds of her past.  

“Oh, hi,” Stacie gives, pretends to only then notice the guy. “Who are you?”  

He stumbles over his words, still looking shocked by the display in front of him and glancing between Bella and the two adults who are still embracing. “Oh, uhm…”  

“Honey, this is Max,” Aubrey introduces, playing along. “He was just asking me to dinner on Friday.”  

Stacie wants to smirk at the blatant snark in Aubrey’s voice but refrains, instead going for, “Oh, this Friday? But that’s date night. We already got a sitter and I was planning on having you all to myself.”  

Stacie leans in close again, lets her gaze drop to Aubrey’s lips as she licks them.  

“Sorry, never mind,” big beefy dude says and he’s gone before Stacie can even turn her head.  

Her hand is still on Aubrey’s hip and she can feel the blonde’s hand on her back holding her close and Aubrey sways slightly, looks like she’s going to lean in as she looks up and locks eyes with Stacie.  

“Bye!” Bella says sweetly and her loud, cheery voice snaps them out of their heated exchange, Aubrey turning away with a sharp laugh, as if she’d been holding her breath and Stacie clears her throat, turning to her daughter with a frown.  

“Isabella Rose Conrad,” Stacie starts, but the tone is light enough to convey that she’s teasing Bella, whose eyes go wide at the sound of her full name. “What did we say about talking to strangers?”  

“But he’s mama’s friend!” Bella protests indignantly, crossing her arms with an angry pout.  

Aubrey’s eyebrows go up when she’s reminded that it’s the second time Bella’s calling her that in as many minutes, turns her expression onto Stacie.  

“I told her to call you that to freak the guy out,” Stacie explains as a quick aside. “You can stop calling her ‘mommy’ now.”  

“No!” the young girl says, still pouting angrily and Stacie knows she’s only disagreeing to get back at Stacie for teasing her. “I don’t want to.”  

Stacie gasps in exaggeration, can see Aubrey smiling out of the corner of her eye.  

“I thought I was your mommy?” Stacie asks, fakes a sad voice and pouts, leaning in close to Bella.  

“Nuh-uh!” Bella says, shakes her head and her arms are still crossed but Stacie can see that Bella’s trying hard not to giggle.  

“It’s okay, I’ll be your mommy,” Aubrey whispers loudly to Bella who lights up, arms loosening to offer Aubrey a hug which she happily accepts.  

“Aubrey!” Stacie exclaims indignantly but Aubrey just winks at her, any traces of their earlier moment completely gone as she hip checks Stacie out of the way and takes control of the cart, pushing them towards the next aisle.  

 

* * *

 

Bella comes in first, running up to Aubrey to give her a quick hug before flitting away towards the toy chest in the living room. Aubrey already has a glass of lemonade waiting when Stacie trudges in, and Aubrey doesn’t let her sit down at the kitchen island, ushers the brunette towards the living room. 

Stacie puts her glass on the coffee table and drops heavily onto the couch with a long, suffering sigh. 

“That bad?” Aubrey asks, looking at Stacie with pity in her eyes. 

The brunette turns to her with a scowl, and she looks like she’s trying to become one with the couch. 

“I don’t know why I take Bella with me,” Stacie says darkly and Aubrey really doesn’t want to laugh at her friend’s misery but she can’t help but let out a short laugh. 

“Because you want her to like it?” 

“All I hear is questions about why we have to move and how nice _this_ house is,” Stacie says and it’s not exactly news to Aubrey, 

The young girl has made it very clear that she does not like the prospect of moving out of Aubrey’s house even though both adults have been saying since the start that it’s just a vacation until Bella and Stacie move into their new house. 

“You tempted my kid with a pool and a neighbour with cats,” Stacie grumbles and then Aubrey really laughs. “You’ve spoiled her.”  

“I’m sorry,” she says but she doesn’t sound apologetic in the least. “But how was the place?” 

“It was kinda shit,” Stacie confesses, eyes sliding closed so she misses Aubrey’s grimace. “It’s not a great neighbourhood and I’ll have to fix it up and I don’t have the time or money to do that.” 

“So it’s a no?” Aubrey asks and Stacie cracks open an eye to shoot her a glare. 

“It’s a no.” 

“I’m sorry,” Aubrey says sincerely. 

“Look, I want to be out of your hair as much as you want me gone so it’ll—” 

“What?” Aubrey interrupts, rather rudely. 

“What?” Stacie asks in confusion. 

“I don’t want you gone,” Aubrey says, and she looks a little insulted when she says it. 

“What?” Stacie asks surprisedly. 

“You said I want you out of my hair,” Aubrey points out, getting annoyed at how circular this conversation is going. 

“Yeah, I figured you don’t want us around for too long?” Stacie says softly. 

Aubrey’s really frowning then, leaning back against the couch as she takes a minute before answering, not wanting to get upset and Stacie can see that she’s unintentionally hurt the blonde, so she sits up and starts to answer before Aubrey holds out her hand to stop her. 

“I wouldn’t have offered to let you stay if I didn’t want you here,” Aubrey says, words precise and Stacie’s chest feels tight. 

“We’ve been here for six weeks,” Stacie points out and Aubrey’s face goes blank and Stacie knows her words haven’t helped. “Surely you must be getting tired of having us around by now,” she tries to say but she knows she’s only digging herself into a deeper hole. 

“I love having you here. I don’t want you moving into a bad place just because you think you need to move out of here,” Aubrey says.  

“And if I don’t find a place before I start working?”  

“I’m not going to kick you out!” Her words are sharp and Aubrey looks away with a sigh, upset with herself for her outburst.  

“I don’t want to fight with you,” Stacie says softly, and she means it. Aubrey turns back to look at her with a wry smile, accepting the words for the truce they are.  

“This house is big and it’s cold and I don’t actually like living here alone,” Aubrey starts and Stacie frowns in concern. “I’m at work all the time but having you and Bella here has been really nice and I wouldn’t mind you staying longer.”  

“I would love to stay,” Stacie says earnestly, seeks out Aubrey’s eyes to convey how much she means the words. “It just seems to good to be true.”  

Aubrey’s frowning again, but she looks more confused than anything and Stacie thinks confusion looks adorable on her but doesn’t dwell on the thought.  

“Why?”  

“It’s a great house in an amazing neighbourhood, Bella loves living here, Bella adores you, we each get our own bedroom, we’re close to my job and her preschool, so what’s the catch?” Stacie lays out.  

“You have to live with me,” Aubrey says, tries to go for a light, teasing tone but falls just shy of it, her insecurities seeping into her words and suggesting that they’re not all in jest.  

Stacie scoffs almost immediately. “That’s hardly the bad part. I lived with ten Bellas. Compared to that, living with you has been heaven,” she answers quickly, words getting away from her and she bites her lip once she realises how much she’s revealed.  

Aubrey’s staring at her with a calculating look, scrutinising her closely and the staring makes Stacie nervous, makes her squirm a little.  

Aubrey stands up then, shoots Stacie a wry smile.  

“You’re already settled here. You don’t have to, but you’re welcome to stay,” Aubrey says softly but her words are precise, and with a final tight smile she walks away. 

 

* * *

 

“Bree?” she says softly, raps her knuckles against the frame of the bathroom door. 

Aubrey’s brushing her teeth and she turns to Stacie, nods once to indicate she’s listening. 

“Do you have floss? I’m all out,” Stacie asks and she sees Aubrey’s shoulders relax at that, the words working as a temporary white flag. 

She reaches under the bathroom counter and opens the cabinet there, rummaging through it until she produces a new pack of dental floss and hands it to Stacie. 

“Thanks,” she says, turns to go but Aubrey watches as she hesitates by the threshold, squares her shoulders back. 

She turns around and Aubrey already has her hand up to stop her as she rinses out her mouth. 

Stacie fidgets as she waits, and then Aubrey’s lowering her hand as she wipes her mouth with her towel. 

“I need stability. For Bella,” Stacie says in a whisper, and she leans back against the doorjamb to calm her nerves. “I can’t make a decision like this without considering her, and if we officially move in with you, you’ll be co-parenting.”  

“I understand,” Aubrey says softly, leaning against the bathroom counter. “But I’m already doing that.” 

“It’s still a big responsibility. I can’t just ask that of you.”  

“Even if I’m offering?”  

“I _really_ want to live here. I want to make this work because it would be amazing to have you help out, but you see where I’m coming from, right? This isn’t a light decision,” Stacie explains and Aubrey nods slowly.  

“You’re right,” Aubrey admits, and the admission is enough to surprise Stacie and it must be evident on her face because Aubrey shoots her a glare.  

“This is a full-time responsibility.”  

“I know that, but it’s not like we’re…” Aubrey doesn’t finish her sentence, doesn’t exactly know how to but Stacie stares straight at her, almost dares her to say the words.  

“We have to talk about it,” Stacie says, voice thick and Aubrey takes a deep breath. “We can’t live together and not talk about it.”  

“We’ll just…” Aubrey stops, furrows her brow in consideration, wants to make sure she says this right, doesn’t want to ruin the delicate balance they have by revealing too much. “Do what we’ve always done.”  

Stacie’s eyes are guarded and Aubrey can’t get a read on her, but then Stacie nods once, decisively. 

“Pretend it never happened,” Stacie says, so many words between them going unspoken but there’s a finality to the words as Aubrey shoots her a wry smile.  

“Exactly,” Aubrey confirms and it seems to settle whatever tension there is between them. “We’ll be two friends raising a three-year-old.”  

“How would this work?” Stacie asks and Aubrey shrugs. “I’m not saying it’s going to happen or anything like that, but what if something happens between us?”  

“Happens how?” Aubrey asks, tries desperately to keep the hopeful tone out of her voice.  

“I need some sort of stability if we live here,” Stacie says. “What’s the deal with the mortgage?”  

The words are a sharp turn away from whatever Aubrey had been expecting but she recovers quickly, shakes her head to clear it. “What do you mean?”  

“I’m going to pay rent, so what’s the mortgage on this place?”  

“You’d just have to pay utilities.”  

“No mortgage?”  

Aubrey shakes her head.  

“Jeez, Bree, next you’re gonna tell me you have a trust fund,” Stacie says with a laugh, sobering up immediately when Aubrey doesn’t laugh along with her but instead bites her lip, looks away. “Are you serious?”  

“My grandparents left me the house and they love me,” Aubrey says a little defensively, crosses her arms and it makes Stacie hold up her hands in surrender. Aubrey’s deep in thought and Stacie watches her closely, can practically see the cogs in her brain working and she finally seems to come to a conclusion, eyes meeting Stacie’s. “What if we treat it as a year-long lease?”  

“Try it out for a year,” Stacie confirms and Aubrey nods. “Summer to summer.”  

“Yes. In a year we re-evaluate.”  

“I really like this plan,” Stacie says, smile growing on her face.  

“Do you want a lease?” Aubrey offers and Stacie chuckles then, shakes her head.  

“No, I trust you won’t kick me and my three-year-old out without notice.”  

“Oh, most probably the three-year-old will get to stay,” Aubrey teases and Stacie mock gasps. “But really, we should draw up a lease.”  

“Whatever you want,” Stacie acquiesces and Aubrey looks pleased with the words.  

“Good.”  

“Do you want a handshake or—?” Stacie teases but Aubrey just rolls her eyes, turns back to the mirror with a shake of the head.  

Stacie’s turning to go, tosses the packet of dental floss between her hands before stopping again.  

“Oh,” she says, voice light so she can pretend she hasn’t been thinking about this since the start of the conversation and to make it seem like the thought has just occurred to her.  

She turns back and Aubrey’s eyebrows are raised in anticipation as she stares at Stacie through the mirror.  

“What happens when you meet someone?”  

Aubrey’s face melts into a coy expression, lips upturned into a dangerous smirk and Stacie has to actively work not to fidget under her intense scrutiny.  

“Are you, Stacie Conrad, trying to impose a no sex rule on our household?”  

Stacie scoffs immediately, tries not to let her mind linger on the ‘our household’ part of that sentence and how happy it makes her.  

“Of course not,” she defends strongly and then Aubrey turns to face Stacie instead of looking at her through the mirror, small smile on her face as she watches the brunette fluster. “I’m just saying, what happens when you meet a guy and he wants to move in with you and live happily ever after?”  

Her voice is a lot pitchier than she means it to be but Aubrey’s stare is unrelenting, and she doesn’t miss the way Aubrey’s head tilts at the mention of said hypothetical guy.  

“I’m not going to meet someone and move in with them within a year,” Aubrey says.  

“What if this guy is the love of your life?” Stacie asks even though her brain is screaming at her to stop talking and let this go.  

“So there’s no space in your hypothetical world for a woman to be the love of my life?” Aubrey suggests lowly and it sends a flash of _something_  through Stacie.  

Stacie opens her mouth to say something, but then they’ve _just_  decided not to mention their history so she lets her words go unspoken. “You’re avoiding the question,” Stacie points out and Aubrey rolls her eyes, relaxes.  

“If they’re the love of my life, they can wait a year.”  

Stacie purses her lips, nods in agreement. 

“What about when you meet someone?” Aubrey points out.  

“Oh, that’s unlikely,” Stacie says with a laugh and Aubrey’s eyes widen.  

“I’m sorry, have you met yourself?” Aubrey says and Stacie can’t help but laugh at that.  

“I have a three-year-old. Do you have any idea how long it’s been since I’ve had sex?” Stacie says but Aubrey doesn’t look like she quite believes her. “Twenty-year-old Stacie would be horrified.”  

Aubrey laughs loudly, shakes her head in exasperation as she turns back to the mirror. She’s looking down so she misses the way Stacie watches her closely, the way she hesitates, mouth opening a few times to speak before second-guessing herself.  

“I’m really happy we’re staying,” Stacie finally whispers. “Thank you for offering.”  

Aubrey looks up to meet the brunette’s eyes through the mirror, small smile on her face as she stares at Stacie, tries to keep her expression from giving her away, from giving away how much she wants this to work, wants them to work.  

“Thank you for staying,” Aubrey whispers.  

Stacie smiles, recognises Aubrey’s expression from back then but this time she doesn’t engage with it, takes a small step backwards and lets her hand fall to the door frame and Aubrey shifts, gaze darting away before looking back at Stacie and this time her expression is a lot more closed off, the familiar façade back in place.  

“Good night, Bree,” Stacie whispers, doesn’t want to ruin the serenity of the air around them.  

Aubrey smiles tenderly then, lets her hands fall to the bathroom counter.  

“Good night, Stace.”  

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> comments make me happy~


	4. Chapter 4

Aubrey doesn’t realise how quickly and naturally they've settled into a routine until her dad visits for Thanksgiving. 

Her dad calls her up two weeks before the holiday to tell her he’ll be stateside for four days and that he’d like to see her. 

It’s a bit of an awkward conversation, because Aubrey’s told him that she has a friend and her daughter living in the house and it’s odd for General Posen to have to ask to stay in his own house, even though Aubrey reassures him that he doesn’t have to ask permission and that it’s completely fine. 

She stresses about it the whole time leading up to Thanksgiving, and she hates that she does because it’s clearly noticeable in the house. Stacie’s on eggshells around her and every night before bedtime Bella brings her a different stuffed animal to help her sleep and it’s so thoughtful that Aubrey almost cries but she knows that the young girl won’t understand so she simply says “thank you, sweetheart” and kisses Bella’s forehead as she bids the girl good night. 

It’s the Monday before Thanksgiving and she’s reading in bed when there’s a knock on her bedroom door. 

“Come in,” she calls out, sets her book aside and Stacie pushes the door open, hovers in the doorway. “Hey.” 

“Hey,” she says softly. Her gaze falls on the mountain of stuffed animals on the unused side of the bed and her expression softens. “So that’s where they’ve been disappearing to.” 

Aubrey smiles as she looks sideways, picks up a stuffed turtle and holds it close. “She’s been bringing me one every night.” 

Stacie closes the door behind her as she steps further into the room, perching on the edge of the bed. 

“Are you okay?” 

“I’m fine,” she says with a small smile but Stacie knows her well enough to see through the façade. 

“Aubrey,” she says softly, twisting to look at the blonde better. “What’s wrong?” 

“My dad and I… I don’t know.” 

“Do you not get along?” Stacie asks, tries to help Aubrey but the blonde shakes her head immediately. 

“No, it’s not that. We just don’t really talk. We never really spend time together, we never have so it’s always strange when we do.” 

She’s playing with the stuffed turtle, looking down at it as she holds it by the arms before dropping it back into her lap. 

“When was the last time you saw him?” Stacie whispers, heart breaking at how resigned Aubrey seems. 

“I don’t know. February, maybe? Before Bella’s birthday.” 

She’s so shocked by the words that she forgets to react, forgets to say something and Aubrey looks up at her.

“It’s okay, that’s totally normal,” Aubrey says with a shrug and she sounds so genuine that it somehow makes Stacie feel worse. 

“Can I ask you something really personal?” Aubrey nods, but then Stacie hesitates, not sure how to formulate her question. “Why don’t you have a mom?” 

Stacie's voice is quiet and Aubrey smiles at how tentative she’s being, how considerate, and her heart warms. 

“She died when I was four.” 

“I’m sorry,” Stacie says, looking sad and a little conflicted and Aubrey knows it’s because she doesn’t sound sad. 

“It’s okay, I don’t really remember her,” Aubrey gives and Stacie’s expression eases. 

“So it’s always been just you and your dad?” 

“Something like that,” Aubrey whispers, voice small and Stacie’s heart breaks all over again. 

“What would you have done for Thanksgiving if he wasn’t coming?” 

“I don’t know. Sleep, read, catch up on some work, binge watch Friends.” 

Stacie stares at her, jaw slack with surprise as she mulls over the implication of the words. 

“Seriously?” 

“What?” Aubrey asks, bristles at the reaction. 

“That’s…” Stacie can’t find a word that won’t come out as insulting, so she shakes her head softly, frowns. “What did you do last year?” 

“What I just said.” 

“Are you serious? You spent last Thanksgiving here, alone?” 

“Why is that so hard to believe?” Aubrey asks sharply, a little insulted by the reaction. 

“What about your dad?” 

“He cancelled last-minute,” Aubrey says with a shrug. “I still won’t really believe he’s coming tomorrow until he gets here.” 

“What are your plans for Christmas?” Stacie asks tentatively, carefully. 

“Now I don’t want to say,” Aubrey says and that’s an answer enough. 

“You’re spending it with us. Come to Philly with me and Bella.” 

“I don’t want to intrude,” Aubrey tries to protest but Stacie’s already getting up, shaking her head as she makes her way to the door. 

“No, the decision is made. You, me, Bella, my mom, my brother Andy, possibly Andy’s new girlfriend who I still don’t believe exists, possibly a stray my mom takes in for the holidays,” Stacie says decisively and Aubrey laughs at the words. “And if your dad doesn’t show up tomorrow, you’re coming up for Thanksgiving too.” 

Stacie’s by the door now and Aubrey looks at her softly, smiles gratefully. 

“You’re amazing,” Aubrey says, smiling coyly. 

Stacie hesitates, her back against the bedroom door as she considers the way Aubrey’s looking at her and she’s a little breathless from it, but then something shifts and Aubrey looks guarded again, closed off, so Stacie grins widely to cover up her own feelings. 

“I know,” she says with a teasing wink and Aubrey rolls her eyes. Stacie gestures to the pile of stuffed animals then. “Do you want me to take those back to her bedroom?” 

“No,” Aubrey says, shakes her head. “I tried that the first night and Bella just brought the first one back plus an extra.” 

Stacie laughs sharply at that. “Yeah, that sounds like something she would do.” 

“Thanks for checking up on me,” Aubrey whispers loudly enough for Stacie to hear her. 

“Anytime, Aubrey,” Stacie says, smiles softly at the blonde as she opens the door. “Good night.” 

“Good night.” 

 

* * *

 

When she comes downstairs Wednesday morning, it’s a small shock to see her father already awake and standing in the kitchen. She realises quickly that she shouldn’t be surprised, his strict discipline a vivid memory and she’s more surprised at herself for being surprised.

“Good morning, daddy,” she says sweetly, kisses his cheek and the man smiles as he watches Aubrey go through her morning routine of getting coffee and breakfast. 

“Good morning Aubrey.” 

“Would you like some breakfast?” Aubrey offers as she pulls a jar of oats out of the fridge. 

“No thank you, I’ve already eaten.” 

“Oh, okay,” Aubrey says, tries not to sound too disappointed but her father must notice. 

“I’ll sit with you, though,” he offers, grabs their mugs and moves them to the small dining table next to the kitchen before she can protest. 

They’re silent as Aubrey has breakfast, and the urge to check her phone is constant as the silence grows thicker and more awkward as more time passes. She takes extra long to eat, not sure what she’ll do once she’s finished but just as she’s taking her last bite, she can hear familiar small feet descending the stairs. 

Bella comes shuffling into the kitchen, eyes more closed than open as she walks around the kitchen island once before stopping with a frown. She yawns and cracks one eye wide open, looking for Aubrey and the blonde has to laugh. She tends to eat in the kitchen and that’s usually where she is when Bella comes downstairs. 

The laughter makes Bella open both eyes, head turning to the sound as she follows it, smiles when she sees Aubrey sitting at the table. 

“Good morning, baby girl,” Aubrey says with a sweet smile and Bella shuffles over. Aubrey leans in and kisses her forehead softly as Bella gives her a quick hug. 

“Mornin’,” she mumbles and Aubrey watches with a smile as she walks over to the other side of the table and pauses when she finds her usual chair occupied. She looks up, has to lean back a little bit as she looks up at Aubrey’s father, frowns. “Mornin’.” 

“Good morning, Bella,” Aubrey’s father responds and Bella smiles but doesn’t move away. 

Aubrey chuckles as she stands up and grabs her plate. “Come sit in my chair, honey,” she says and Bella turns to her with a soft pout but doesn’t protest it, sighs contentedly when Aubrey lifts her onto the chair. 

“Would you like cereal or a sandwich for breakfast?” Aubrey asks as she moves towards the kitchen, knows that the trick to getting Bella to enjoy breakfast is to give her the illusion of choice. 

“Uhm…” 

The sound is muffled and Aubrey leans out of the kitchen to properly see the girl, suddenly understanding that Bella likes her usual spot at the dining table because it’s the only seat where you can see into the kitchen and vice versa. 

Bella has her head on crossed arms, blinking slowly, already half asleep again and Aubrey quickly crosses the room. 

“Hey, no, you need to wake up, honey,” Aubrey says sternly and Bella whines in complaint. She pouts when Aubrey softly tugs her blankie from her grip and flings it over her shoulder. 

“Isn’t it a vacation day for her?” her father asks and Aubrey smiles at him. 

“Yes, but we don’t want to take her out of her rhythm because she has trouble falling asleep during the week,” Aubrey explains quickly before squatting down to be at an evener eye level with Bella, reaching out to softly rub the girl’s back. “Cereal or sandwich?” 

“Can I have Froot Loops?” Bella asks, voice pitiful and Aubrey laughs. 

“Yes, you can.” 

“Cereal,” Bella says. 

“You can’t fall asleep,” Aubrey warns as she stands up again. 

“Okay,” Bella says, sighs dramatically as she lifts her head from the table. 

“Why don’t you tell my dad about your favourite fish?” Aubrey suggests cheerily and then Bella lights up, smiles at the man sitting across from her. Aubrey walks back into the kitchen as she hears Bella’s sleepy voice start chattering about clownfish, completely unaware that her father is watching her closely. 

She pours cereal into a Peppa Pig bowl, adds milk and deposits it in front of Bella along with a spoon before moving back towards the kitchen, refilling the coffee machine and setting it for another pot of coffee as she sips the last from her own mug. 

She grabs another mug from a cupboard and leaves it by the coffee machine as she walks to the refrigerator and pulls it open, filling a glass with cold water before returning the pitcher and when she closes the refrigerator door she stops, reads something on a note attached with a magnet, smiling softly. 

Reaching up, Aubrey’s hand pats the top of the fridge before coming away with a pen that she uses to scribble something on the note before returning the pen to the top of the fridge. 

She’s pouring coffee into her own mug when she hears Stacie come downstairs so she quickly drops two sugar cubes into her own coffee before reaching for the extra mug she’d grabbed and pouring coffee into it. 

“Good morning,” Stacie says softly with a smile as she walks into the kitchen and finds Aubrey stirring her coffee. She leans in and quickly pecks Aubrey’s cheek before reaching for the glass of water and downing it in one long swig, putting the glass in the sink with one hand and reaching for her coffee with the other. 

“Breakfast?” Stacie asks. 

“Froot Loops,” Aubrey says and Stacie nods. 

Aubrey sets her mug down on the counter, brushes her fingers softly across Stacie’s elbow before leaving the kitchen to get ready. 

Stacie reaches up and opens one of the cupboards, pulls out a travel mug and takes it, along with Aubrey’s forgotten mug, over to the sink and quickly and smoothly transfers the coffee from the cup to the travel mug. 

She moves to the coffee machine and tops up the travel mug, adds a sugar cube before closing the top and leaving it in the middle of the kitchen island. 

When she turns, she’s surprised to find Aubrey’s father in Bella’s usual breakfast spot watching her closely but she doesn’t let his scrutiny deter her as she smiles. 

“Good morning, sir,” Stacie says with an easy smile, walks over to the table. 

“Good morning, Stacie,” Aubrey’s father says. 

“Morning, baby girl,” Stacie says and Bella smiles up at her mother, grin widening when Stacie quickly kisses her forehead. “You almost done?” 

“Uh-huh,” Bella says with a nod. 

Stacie ruffles the girl’s hair as she turns to Aubrey’s father. “Have you already had breakfast? Would you like some more coffee?” 

“I’ve already eaten and no thank you,” he says with a polite smile that Stacie mirrors. 

She goes back to the kitchen, pulls open the fridge and grabs a jar of oats similar to the one Aubrey’d had and absentmindedly grabs a spoon from a drawer as she reads something stuck to the door of the refrigerator. 

She eats directly from the jar, turns to peek over to the dining table when she hears a spoon clank against plastic. 

“I’m done,” Bella calls out happily but Stacie doesn’t rush to go to her, hears Bella start talking animatedly about guppy fish, smiles when she hears Aubrey’s father ask Bella specific questions. They’re not in any rush to get ready today, so Stacie has another cup of coffee and joins the two at the dining room table, dropping an apple next to the travel mug on her way. 

Bella has moved onto goldfish when Aubrey comes back downstairs, dressed for work. 

“Will I see you before you leave?” Aubrey asks Stacie as she sits down at the dining table to put on her heels. 

“I want to leave at like 3 so she can nap in the car,” Stacie says with a nod. 

“Okay perfect, I’ll be home by then,” Aubrey says with a smile before turning to her father. “I’m sorry I have to work a half-day today.” 

“It’s no problem. I can entertain myself,” he says with a gruff chuckle and Aubrey exchanges a look with Stacie as she stands up and goes to the kitchen. 

She packs the apple into her bag and grabs the travel mug, walking back to the table and kissing Bella’s forehead softly. “Alright, I have to go. I’ll see you all this afternoon.” 

“Byeee,” Bella calls out cheerily and Aubrey smiles, quickly pecks Stacie’s cheek. 

“Have fun at work,” Stacie says and Aubrey shoots her a dirty look that makes Stacie laugh. 

“Bye dad,” Aubrey says and her father gives a small smile as she leaves. 

 

* * *

 

Stacie unlocks the front door easily, and Bella sighs against her when the warm air hits them. 

“Aubrey?!” Stacie calls out loudly into the house, but it’s quiet and she frowns. 

“Where’s aunt Bree?” Bella asks, tightens her arms around Stacie’s neck. 

“I don’t know,” Stacie says, toeing off her boots by the door and reaching out to take off Bella’s shoes and dropping them next to her own before walking around the house looking for Aubrey, Bella glued to her back. 

“Aubrey?!” 

“Stacie?” 

She whirls around at her name, smiles when her eyes fall on Aubrey. 

“What are you doing home? I wasn’t expecting you until Sunday,” Aubrey says, smiling, clearly happy to see them but also confused as to why they’re back two whole days before planned. 

“Uncle Andy has chick’npox,” Bella says with a put-on sad expression.

“Hi sweetheart,” Aubrey says, stepping close to Stacie so she can kiss Bella’s cheek. 

“Hi,” Bella says with a happy smile. 

“My mom told us to come home. The house was miserable,” Stacie explains, presents her cheek expectantly and Aubrey rolls her eyes but brushes her lips against Stacie’s cheek anyway. 

“You haven’t had it?” Aubrey asks as they make their way to the living room. 

“I have, and she’s vaccinated against it,” Stacie says, bouncing Bella on her back. “Okay, piggyback ride’s over, Monkey,” Stacie says and drops Bella onto the couch with a laugh, the girl giggling on the way down and squirming to get up as Stacie slowly starts sitting down, right where she’s curled up. 

“When did you get it?” Aubrey asks and Bella scrambles onto her lap for a cuddle. 

“Junior year,” Stacie says, relaxes against the couch, turns her head to look at Aubrey and Bella. “It was bad.” 

“How bad?” Aubrey asks.

Bella gets up and moves over to her toy chest and Stacie takes the opportunity to slide sideways, head ending up in Aubrey’s lap. 

“Very bad. I’m convinced Amy brought it home because she got sick first but she insists that it wasn’t her.” 

“Did all of you get it?” Aubrey asks, pulls Stacie’s hair loose from where it’s tied in a bun and drags her fingers through the locks to loosen them. “Well, except Chloe.” 

“How do you know Chloe already got it?” 

“She had it freshman year, I had to take care of her,” Aubrey explains quickly. 

“When did you get it?” Stacie asks, eyes fluttering closed when Aubrey’s nails drag soothingly across her scalp. “Hmmm.” 

“I was twelve, I was at summer camp,” Aubrey says, but then she tugs slightly on Stacie’s hair and Stacie whines in complaint. “Which other Bellas got the chickenpox?” 

“Chloe, Jessica and Flo were the only ones who’d already gotten it, so pretty much everybody else.” 

“ _All_  of you?” Aubrey asks in surprise. 

“Mhm-hmm.” Stacie nods. “Jessica pretty much locked herself in a room with Ashley and took care of her, Flo was rooming with CR at the time so she took care of her. She also had some miracle water thing that Amy was convinced cured her earlier so she hung out in their room all the time.” 

“Oh,” Aubrey says, staring down at Stacie with pity as she deduces what happened. “Which means Chloe was on Stacie and Beca duty.” 

“I was neglected!” 

Aubrey laughs softly and Stacie cracks open an eye to frown at her. 

“You poor baby,” Aubrey coos, resumes carding her fingers through Stacie’s hair and the woman relaxes, closing her eye again. “You must have been miserable.” 

“I was,” Stacie says with a pout. 

“Where was Lilly?” 

“You know, I’m not sure.” 

“That… makes total sense,” Aubrey says with a smile, nodding and Stacie opens her eyes to smile and takes in Aubrey's outfit. 

“Why aren’t you dressed?” Stacie asks, reaches up to play with the hem of Aubrey’s soft tee. 

“Oh, I didn’t notice I was naked,” Aubrey says sarcastically, mockingly covering herself up. 

Stacie rolls her eyes and reaches out to put Aubrey’s hand back on her head. 

“Presumptuous,” Aubrey comments but runs her fingers through brown locks anyway, can’t help herself. 

“You’re wearing your comfy outfit. You don’t wear that when we have people over,” Stacie comments.

“Comfy outfit?” Aubrey asks and Stacie reaches out for Aubrey’s shirt again. 

“Leggings, t-shirt, no mascara,” Stacie explains with a smile, before her expression drops. “Wait. Where’s your dad?” 

Aubrey smiles wryly down at Stacie, a knowing look on her face and Stacie frowns. 

“Really?” she asks in a small voice and Aubrey nods. “When did he leave?” 

“Late last night,” Aubrey says. 

“But it’s Thanksgiving,” Stacie tries to protest, but she knows that that makes no difference, and Aubrey confirms that when she shrugs. 

“It’s okay, I’m used to it by now. I’m glad I got to see him for at least two days.” 

“Aubrey…” Stacie says, full of concern and she tries to sit up but Aubrey tightens her hand and keeps her down and Stacie knows she can’t risk fighting her by sitting up without her hair getting seriously tangled in Aubrey’s fingers so she stays put, tries to shoot Aubrey a worried look. “Why didn’t you call me?” 

“I didn’t want it to ruin your Thanksgiving,” Aubrey explains. 

“So you admit it ruined your Thanksgiving?” Stacie challenges and Aubrey rolls her eyes, tugs slightly on her hair. 

“You’re more upset about this than I am,” Aubrey says. 

“That’s what worries me.” 

“You don’t have to worry,” Aubrey says with a small smile, shifts so she can lift her legs onto the coffee table and cross them. 

Stacie squirms and she looks suspicious, but Aubrey starts running her fingers through her hair again and she settles. 

“Oops!” Bella says and Aubrey and Stacie both look away from each other to glance at the girl who shrugs and grabs a purple crayon. 

“Everything okay, bubba?” Stacie asks and Bella looks up from the floor, surprised to find both adults looking at her. 

“Yup,” she says with a decisive nod and Aubrey smiles as Stacie lifts her hand in a thumbs-up gesture that Bella copies. 

 

* * *

 

“Hey, I’m home!” Aubrey calls out as she closes the front door behind her. The house is quiet which is unusual; she’d seen Stacie’s car outside and it’s too cold for Bella to be in the backyard. 

“Hi!” she finally hears distantly. 

“Where are you?” Aubrey yells back.

“Study!” Stacie shouts and Aubrey shrugs out of her coat, toes off her boots before following Stacie’s voice to the study. 

“Hey,” Stacie says with a soft smile when she sees Aubrey, leans back in her chair. “You’re home late.” 

“Minor crisis at the office,” Aubrey explains.

“Anything serious?” Stacie asks with concern but Aubrey shakes her head as she moves closer. 

She perches against the desk, careful not to disturb Stacie’s organised chaos of papers and books. “What’s all this?” she asks, gestures to the desk. 

“Grading papers,” Stacie says with a drawn-out sigh and Aubrey smiles sympathetically. 

“Where’s Bella?” 

“Basement,” Stacie says, raises her eyebrows cheekily but Aubrey tilts her head in question, not following. “Ask me about my day.” 

“How was your day?” Aubrey asks, still confused. 

“It was great. I got a lot of work done. They delivered the new washing machine in the morning.” 

“What does that have to do with anything?”

“The guys hooked it up so I thought I’d get a jumpstart on this weekend’s laundry.” 

“… okay?” 

“Bella is sitting in front of the machine, watching the laundry,” Stacie finally explains. 

“What?” Aubrey asks in amusement. “Why?” 

“She’s fascinated by it.” 

“By… laundry?” Aubrey asks, brows furrowing. 

“The new washing machine loads in the front, Bree,” Stacie spells out. “The old loaded from the top. This one has a glass door in the front. She dragged her chair, a couple of stuffed animals and her colouring supplies down to the basement.” 

Aubrey’s smiling brilliantly, completely entertained by the words. 

“How long has she been down there?” 

Stacie glances at the clock mounted on the wall, squints her eyes a little. “About an hour?” 

Aubrey shakes her head in disbelief at the peculiar girl. “Has she had dinner?” 

“Yesterday’s leftovers.” 

“Have you had dinner?” Aubrey asks then, pointedly because she already knows the answer. 

Stacie doesn’t answer her immediately, and Aubrey arches an eyebrow. “No.” She purses her lips then and stares at Aubrey in challenge. “Have you?” 

Aubrey narrows her eyes, knows she’s been had as she shakes her head. She pushes away from the desk, trails her fingers across Stacie’s shoulder. 

“Come on, Professor,” she says, holds out her hand for Stacie to take. “You need a break.” 

Stacie slides her hand into Aubrey’s, lets the blonde pull her out of the chair with an exaggerated groan. 

“Are you going to cook me dinner like a good housewife?” Stacie teases as Aubrey leads them to the kitchen.

“I wasn’t the one who was home all day with the kids,” Aubrey taunts, shoots Stacie a smug look. “And last I checked, I’m the main breadwinner in this household.” 

Stacie grabs one of the barstools and sits in front of the kitchen island, watches as Aubrey pulls open a cupboard and scans the contents. 

“Oh no,” Stacie mutters as she mulls it over. “ _I’m_  the housewife.” 

“And yet, I’m the one making us dinner.”  

 

* * *

 

“I’m done,” Bella calls out and Aubrey turns at the sound, watches with a smile as Bella squirms out of her chair and brings her plate to the sink, just barely managing to slide the plate onto the counter before turning to Aubrey with a pleased smile. 

“Well done,” Aubrey says proudly, ushers her upstairs to get dressed while she cleans up and they’re out the door fifteen minutes later with the radio blasting and Bella brokenly singing along. 

Aubrey has only ever been to Bella’s preschool once before so when they get to the building, Bella is tugging her in the right direction, eager and excited to play with her friends. 

One of the teachers walks up to them and crouches down briefly to say hello and high five Bella. 

The girl almost runs off but then the teacher stops her. 

“You’re not gonna say goodbye to your mommy?” 

Bella stops in her tracks, looks at Aubrey guiltily as she runs back and gives the blonde a quick hug before running away to play. 

Aubrey’s too surprised to say anything, and by the time she catches on, the teacher is standing up and extending her hand. 

“Hi, I’m Tess, one of the morning teachers,” the woman says and Aubrey shakes the woman’s hand. 

“Aubrey,” she says with a smile. 

Tess stands next to her as they both watch Bella haphazardly toss her bag on her assigned shelf and go over to play with some other kids. 

“It’s so nice to finally meet you, Aubrey,” Tess says with a smile. “Bella talks about you a lot so it’s nice to finally put a face to the name.” 

“She does?” Aubrey asks in surprise and Tess turns to her with a small frown. 

“Why is that surprising?” Tess asks carefully. 

“Because Stacie’s her mother,” Aubrey says, also frowning now. 

“Are you not Bella’s other mom?” 

“What?”

They stare at each other in confusion, and Aubrey’s looking completely puzzled but then Tess chuckles as understanding dawns on her. 

“I’m sorry, I just assumed you were also her mother,” Tess explains quickly. “Stacie filled out paperwork to authorise you to drop off and pick up Bella and under relationship, she checked ‘partner’ and Bella said she doesn’t have a dad and always draws you when we paint family portraits so I just assumed. My bad.” 

Aubrey laughs at the misunderstanding, shakes her head and waves off the woman’s apology. 

“Don’t worry about it,” she says with a smile. 

“Bella says you live together?” Tess prods carefully and Aubrey nods. 

“It’s a long story, but Stacie and I went to college together. They moved in over the summer,” Aubrey explains briefly. 

Tess nods in understanding as she mulls over the words. 

“Is everything alright with Stacie? She usually drops Bella off.” 

Aubrey takes a moment to marvel at the attentiveness of the woman. 

“She had to go into work earlier today,” Aubrey gives, but then she glances at her watch and her eyes widen. “Speaking of, I have to go.” 

“It was nice to meet you, Aubrey,” Tess says with a smile. 

“It was nice to meet you too, Tess.” 

 

* * *

 

“Can I ask you something?” Aubrey says tentatively when Stacie slides into bed. 

“Of course,” she answers, shifts so she’s face to face with Aubrey. 

“It’s about Bella’s father,” she says and it’s so soft, so hesitant. 

Stacie sighs, but she can’t be mad at Aubrey’s curiosity, had been expecting the question for a while now. “What about him?” 

“Do you really not know who he is or did you say that so the girls wouldn’t pry?” she asks and Stacie is transported back to four years ago in a bar in Brooklyn. 

“You know me too well,” she teases, but then a sad smile tugs at her lips as she looks off. “I know who he is, but…” 

She leaves the sentence hanging and Aubrey fears the worst. 

“It’s not something I’m proud of,” Stacie whispers. “Bella is the best thing that’s ever happened to me. I love her so, so much and I don’t like the thought that her father is out there and that he doesn’t feel the same way.” 

She’s not looking at Aubrey, can’t meet her eyes. 

“Hey,” Aubrey says softly, reaching out to softly brush some strands of Stacie’s hair away from her face. “It’s okay.” 

“He’s married, he has kids.” 

She hears more than sees Aubrey take a deep breath, exhaling slowly. 

“I didn’t know until I told him I was pregnant. And then I was so ashamed and I felt so stupid that I didn’t see it before.” 

Aubrey tentatively reaches out to touch her shoulder and when Stacie melts into the embrace, Aubrey wraps her arm around Stacie and pulls her closer. 

“He said he already had kids and didn’t want any more. So I never told him that I kept her and I don’t want anything from him,” she says, tries to sound strong but her voice is shaky. 

“You know Bella doesn’t care, right?” Aubrey tries to argue. 

“Not right now she doesn’t, but she will one day.” 

“That day is not for a while and you can prepare her for it,” Aubrey says softly, thumb tenderly stroking over the skin of Stacie’s hip. “Take it from someone who has a complicated relationship with her father,” Aubrey starts but then she doesn’t know what she wants to say. 

Stacie hums in understanding, though, and she knows she doesn’t need to explain her words further. 

“Is that why you moved to New York?” Aubrey asks. 

“Why do you ask?” 

“When I saw you in Denver, you were at MIT,” Aubrey says and Stacie freezes at the words. “But then at Emily’s performance, you were living in New York.” 

“I didn’t want to stay in Boston. I didn’t have anybody there and I’d just finished the master’s portion of my PhD so I could transfer to another university. It worked out perfectly,” Stacie explains quickly, a jumble of words as she tries to make sense of how casually Aubrey had brought up Denver. “And just in case I couldn’t balance the motherhood and PhD thing, it was easier to get a job in New York anyway.” 

“But it all worked out,” Aubrey says with a smile that Stacie mirrors. 

“It did.” 

“And Bella is surrounded by people who love her. You, me, your mom, Andy, Beca, Chloe, the rest of the Bellas…” 

“Yeah,” Stacie says with a soft smile.

“It doesn’t matter that she doesn’t have a father. She doesn’t need one.” 

Stacie meets her eyes and smiles, suddenly realises how closely pressed they are and the air around them shifts. She’s about to lean forward when nails tap against the bedroom door before it’s carefully, slowly being pushed open. Stacie’s mom pokes her head around the door, eyes darting between the two cuddled up in bed before focusing on Stacie. 

“It’s twelve,” she whispers and Stacie nods, her smile widening. 

“Okay. Give me two minutes.” 

Stacie’s mom holds out two fingers and mouths “two minutes” before leaving again and Aubrey turns to Stacie in confusion. 

“What’s happening?” 

“You’ll see,” Stacie says, excitement practically coming off her in waves as she slides out of bed and walks over to the single mattress on the other side of the room. 

She scoops the toddler up and brings her back to bed with her and Aubrey, softly whispering, “Wake up, baby girl.” 

“Bella…” Stacie sing-songs, tenderly brushing her fingers against Bella’s back as she settles them in bed and the girl whines as she’s awoken, expression crinkling as she buries her face into Stacie’s shoulder. “It’s midnight, Bella.” 

Bella whines again, sounds absolutely pitiful and Stacie looks up to find Aubrey looking at her totally lost. 

“It’s Christmas,” Stacie says and then the girl’s eyes snap open as she scrambles to sit up. Stacie laughs but urges her to lay down again, shifts so Bella is cuddled between herself and Aubrey. 

There’s suddenly loud, thudding steps coming from upstairs and Aubrey figures out pretty quickly that it’s the attic, but Bella’s eyes go wide and Stacie curls around her and whispers, “Roof…” 

Aubrey’s expression softens as she cottons on. 

Then there are loud steps around the living room, even though the irregular thuds are still coming from upstairs. Both sets of thumping are impressively loud and Aubrey has to stifle a giggle at how excited Bella is, the girl practically shaking as she tries to lie still. 

“Santa Claus?” she asks in a small, whispered voice and Stacie nods. 

“And his reindeer,” Stacie confirms with a nod and when she glances up she finds Aubrey staring at her reverently, an affectionate smile on her face. 

The thudding stops after a few minutes and Bella has significantly calmed down, Stacie’s hand softly running along the girl’s leg. 

“Go back to sleep, sweetheart,” Stacie whispers soothingly and Aubrey reaches out to drag her fingers through Bella’s hair. 

“Presents tomorrow?” Bella asks around a yawn. 

“Presents tomorrow,” Stacie confirms with a small smile, leaning down and giving Bella an Eskimo kiss. 

Bella yawns again, eyes blinking slowly as she easily falls asleep again and Stacie is propped up on her arm, watches the girl fall asleep. 

“That was so special,” Aubrey whispers when she’s sure Bella is asleep. 

“Conrad tradition,” Stacie explains, meets Aubrey’s twinkling eyes. “Plus, it means she won't wake up super early tomorrow.”

“How did that work?” Aubrey asks, points to the ceiling and then to the floor. 

“Mom does the attic and Andy does the ground floor,” Stacie explains and Aubrey’s smile widens. “It’s a two-man job. Have to make it believable to keep the magic alive.” 

Stacie sounds cheeky, but there’s a tragic tone undercutting her voice and Aubrey’s smile turns sympathetic. 

“Your dad?” Aubrey asks and Stacie nods. 

“That was a pretty bad year for Andy,” Stacie says sadly. “Dad dying and finding out Santa isn’t real.” 

Aubrey frowns, and Stacie knows what she’s thinking. 

“Mom tried, but Andy had gotten used to hearing the reindeer  _and_  Santa and I had to stay in bed with him to make sure he didn’t run downstairs. That’s how I found out when I was seven.” 

Aubrey chuckles, expression sad as she watches Stacie look down at Bella. 

“My mom is excited to be doing it again for her,” Stacie whispers but her eyes are glassy and Aubrey’s heart breaks. “Sorry,” Stacie whispers quickly and brokenly as she sniffles and reaches up to wipe away her tears but Aubrey’s already shaking her head. 

“It’s okay,” she says, cups Stacie’s face and wipes away the tears from her cheek. 

“I’m just gonna…” Stacie says, points to Bella and then the mattress and Aubrey nods. Stacie lifts the sleeping girl and carefully puts her back to her bed, covering her up and smiling when Bella curls up, clutching the sheets. She leans down and quickly presses her lips against Bella’s forehead before going back to bed. 

Aubrey’s on her back again and Stacie hovers by the edge of the bed, eyes full of grief. 

“C’mere,” Aubrey coaxes and Stacie slides into bed and curls up against Aubrey, burying her face in the blonde’s neck. 

Aubrey reaches up and drags her fingers across Stacie’s scalp soothingly. 

“Merry Christmas, Aubrey,” Stacie mumbles, wraps her arm around Aubrey’s middle as they both settle into the embrace. 

“Merry Christmas, Stacie.” 

“I’m happy you’re here.” 

“Me too.” 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> comments = happy me = more writing = quicker updates!


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> the one with the wedding

“Bree, what is taking you so long?” Stacie calls out. She has made herself more than comfortable on the couch in the huge dressing room, and she knows she looks like something out of a catalogue in her metallic-golden asymmetrical dress while draped across the chaise longue. 

“She needs alterations!” Chloe calls out and Stacie can hear Aubrey groan. 

“We still want to see it!” Stacie says back, even though Bella hasn’t looked up once from where she’s sprawled on the carpeted floor, crayons spread around her and very focused on her drawing. 

The curtain is pushed to the side and Aubrey comes out in her bridesmaid dress and Stacie’s speechless at the sight. The fabric clings to every curve and Aubrey had been adamant about not wearing a strapless dress, no matter how much Chloe had begged, so the lace that crawls over her shoulders had been a compromise but it makes Aubrey look almost ethereal and Stacie’s at a loss for words. 

“What the alterations?” she manages to croak out and she knows it’s not a proper sentence but the two other women are — mercifully — too distracted by Aubrey’s dress to notice. 

“They got the measurements wrong,” Aubrey says.

“She’s lost weight,” Chloe says, and when Aubrey turns Stacie can see that the dress is being held closed with pins instead of the zipper.  

Stacie frowns when she registers the words, takes in Aubrey’s physique again with a more critical eye. “How is that possible?” 

Chloe walks away to talk to the seamstress and Aubrey finally turns to her, faltering when she finally gets a good look at ‘draw me like one of your French girls’-posed Stacie. 

“I’m running around behind your three-year-old,” Aubrey points out and Stacie narrows her eyes but she can’t exactly deny that. 

“Almost four!” Bella pipes up and they laugh. 

“What do you think?” Aubrey slowly turns in front of Stacie and her brain goes completely blank. It must show on her face because Aubrey laughs, shakes her head in exasperation. 

“You look nice too,” she says and that snaps Stacie out of her reverie. 

“Thank you,” Stacie says with a soft smile, brushes her fingers along the fabric. “It’s so comfortable.” 

Aubrey moves closer, lifts Stacie’s legs up so she can slide onto the couch, placing the woman’s legs over her lap. 

“Have you seen Bella’s dress?” Aubrey asks, and she’s studiously looking at the girl on the floor to not lose her composure when she looks at Stacie. 

“No,” Stacie admits. They hadn’t told Bella that she was going to be a flower girl and Stacie measured Bella one night when she was asleep and sent the measurements to Chloe. 

“They know she doesn’t like lace, right?” Aubrey asks, and Stacie can sense her light panic. 

“Yes, don’t worry,” Stacie teases and Aubrey can’t help but smile.

Chloe’s still talking to the seamstress when Beca comes running in, breathless. “Hi, I’m here!” 

“We can see that,” Aubrey says but Beca doesn’t have enough time to roll her eyes before Bella’s running towards her. 

“Hi!” the girl calls out and Beca happily returns the hug. 

“Hi, Bells,” she says with a genuine smile and Chloe finally turns to them, holding something behind her back. “Aunt Chloe has something for you, Bells.” 

Bella turns to look at Chloe and Beca quickly takes off her coat and bag, tossing them near the couch and missing by almost a whole foot. 

“Come here, honey,” Chloe says softly, reveals the white princess dress she’d been hiding behind her back. Stacie hears Aubrey’s sharp intake of breath at the sight of the while silky dress with a flared skirt, and Stacie has to admit that the child-sized ballgown looks beautiful. 

Bella stares with wide eyes at the dress, seemingly completely unaware that Beca’s undressing her until Chloe’s urging her to step into the dress and she stands completely frozen when Chloe zips up the dress. 

Chloe leads Bella over to the mirror but they don’t let her see herself just yet, and Beca kneels down in front of her goddaughter, smiling widely. 

“Bells, do you want to be our flower girl?” 

Beca doesn’t wait for an answer before spinning the girl so she can see herself in the mirror. Bella’s eyes go wide, face lighting up but then she’s crying and Chloe frowns, drops to her knees in concern. 

“Oh, honey, no, don’t cry.” 

Stacie’s smile is wide and Aubrey leans into her with tears in her own eyes. 

“She cries when she’s excited,” Stacie reminds them quickly, reaches out to hold Aubrey’s hand and Chloe and Beca’s concerns melt away as they smile. 

“So that’s a yes?” Chloe asks, softly rubbing Bella’s arm. 

Bella’s nodding, her ponytail loosening from how hard she’s nodding and she turns to hug Chloe and Beca. She pulls away and runs over to the couch, Stacie lifting the girl onto her lap and Bella wraps her arms around Stacie’s neck. 

“Oh baby,” she soothes, rubbing Bella’s back softly. “Are you happy?” 

“Yes,” Bella says with a hiccup, having stopped crying but her face still covered in tears and Aubrey laughs softly, reaches out to wipe away Bella’s tears. 

“We should have gotten Rosie in for this,” Chloe says when Beca hugs her, both of them looking at the three on the couch. 

“Next time,” Beca says, and at the same time Stacie says, “Who’s Rosie?” 

“Wedding photographer,” Chloe clarifies. 

“Oh, you found someone?” Aubrey asks and Beca nods. 

“She has a whole team and their portfolio looks great,” Beca says. 

“That’s one thing off your checklist,” Stacie teases, bumping Aubrey’s shoulder and the blonde shoots her a mild glare but knows she’s right. 

“Are we done here?” Aubrey asks, changing the subject and looking at Beca and Chloe. 

“Yup,” Chloe confirms and Aubrey stands up to go change. 

Stacie pouts when she realises that it means they’ll be changing back into their regular clothes and she won’t get to admire Aubrey in her dress, but then Bella’s pouting even more when Beca calls to her to change out of her dress. 

“No.” 

Bella’s arms are crossed, and she has a deep frown and Stacie laughs because she looks so much like Aubrey when she’s like this but she’d never dare say that to Aubrey. 

“You have to take it off, Bella,” Stacie urges but the girl shakes her head. 

“I don’t wanna.” 

“Guess you won’t go to Alice’s Tea Cup then,” Aubrey says, poking her head around the curtain and Bella turns to her with wide, panicked eyes. 

“Huh?” she asks, jutting out her lower lip. 

“You can’t wear your dress out of the store,” Stacie explains. 

“So you’ll have to stay here while mommy and I go have waffles,” Aubrey adds. 

Bella looks like she’s going to cry and Chloe has to hide her smile, turns her body into Beca’s to stifle her laughter. 

“You can only come with us if you take off your dress,” Stacie explains and Bella looks conflicted. “You’re allowed to wear it again at the wedding.” 

That seals the deal and Bella hops down from Stacie’s lap and runs over to Chloe, crashing into her legs as she urgently pats the woman’s thigh. “Lemme out please!”

Beca and Chloe stare at Stacie in astonishment. 

“That was a little scary,” Beca says lightly and Stacie gets up with a grin, goes to the dressing cubicle Aubrey’s in and stands just outside it. 

She holds up her hand and Aubrey reaches out from behind the curtain and gives her a high five. 

“That’s how it’s done,” Stacie says smugly and then Aubrey’s pulling the curtain aside, shaking her head in amusement. 

“Go change, I’m getting hungry,” Aubrey commands, lets her eyes drift down Stacie’s body to appreciate the  _fit_  of the dress one last time before she changes. 

Aubrey sits back on the couch, pulls on her shoes and Bella walks over to her, back in her regular clothes and Aubrey lifts the girl onto her lap, fixes her hair quickly and then Bella’s cuddling back into Aubrey, who wraps her arms loosely around the girl as they wait for Stacie to change. 

“We’re definitely asking Rosie to come for the next fitting,” Chloe whispers to Beca, both of them watching the interaction with rapt attention. 

 

* * *

 

“Hi there.” Aubrey looks up as a tall brunette sits down in the chair next to her. “You must be Aubrey.” 

“I am,” she confirms, and her eyes drift down to the camera hanging from the woman’s neck and she smiles. “Are you Rosie or Marina?” 

“Rosie,” she says, smiles widely and offers Aubrey her hand to shake. 

“Nice to meet you.” 

“It’s nice to finally meet you too,” Rosie says and something in the way the words are said makes Aubrey tilt her head questioningly. “I’ve already met all the other bridesmaids.” 

Aubrey nods, smiles. “At their fittings, right!” 

Rosie nods in confirmation, and Aubrey’s taken by the woman’s smile. 

Bella suddenly comes crashing into her chair, full of giggles and it startles Aubrey out of the intense eye contact she’s having with Rosie. 

“Help!” Bella calls up to Aubrey who looks around to see Emily slowly stalking over, a wicked smile on her face. Aubrey doesn’t think twice, hoists Bella onto her lap as Emily gets closer. 

“I’m gonna getcha!” Emily calls out and Bella squeals, buries her face in Aubrey’s neck. The blonde wraps her arms around the girl and twists her body, effectively shielding the girl from Emily. 

“C’mon, Aubrey, stop protecting her,” Emily tries to threaten but it comes out as more of a whine. 

“Never,” Aubrey replies with a scoff, eyebrow arched in challenge. 

Bella lifts her face from Aubrey’s neck to stick out her tongue at Emily, who gasps indignantly. 

“Em, have you met Rosie?” Aubrey says, gesturing to the woman even though she knows Emily has. 

“Yeah, nice to see you again,” Emily says, turning to Rosie with a wide smile before leaning down close to Bella. “I’ll get you later.” 

Bella squeaks at the threat, buries her face in Aubrey’s neck again. 

“Monkey, are you going to introduce yourself?” Aubrey asks, softly stroking Bella’s back and the girl lifts her head, leans back and only then notices the stranger sitting next to Aubrey so she nods happily. 

“Hi,” she says, twisting with a wide smile. “I’m Bella.” 

“I’m Rosie,” the woman says, and Bella sticks out her hand for a handshake, expression serious and Rosie glances up at Aubrey in amusement before shaking the girl’s hand. 

“She’s Stacie’s daughter,” Aubrey explains, pointing at Stacie who’s having an animated discussion with Beca. 

“You three live in DC together?” Rosie asks and Aubrey nods. 

Aubrey hears Bella yawn, feels the girl’s body relax against her and she can’t help but lean down and press her lips to the crown of the girl’s head, lets her hand rub across her back softly. “Is it almost time for your nap?” 

“No,” Bella tries to protest but her voice is a little mumbled and she’s blinking slowly as she cuddles closer to Aubrey. 

“Okay,” Aubrey says, disbelief strongly colouring her tone but not arguing it. 

She hears a camera shutter click and when she looks up, Rosie is smiling at the screen of her camera, looks up a little guiltily when she finds Aubrey staring at her. 

“I hope it’s a good one,” Aubrey says with a small smile, hand still rubbing Bella’s back. 

“What makes you say that?” Rosie asks and Aubrey shrugs, looks away and around the room. 

“I don’t really like having my picture taken.” 

“You’re the maid of honour at what promises to be a heavily photographed wedding,” Rosie points out and it makes Aubrey chuckle softly, mindful of the girl in her lap. 

“I just clam up when I see a camera and I always end up looking terrible,” Aubrey explains. 

“I promise that by the end of this whole thing you’ll have some photos of yourself you love,” Rosie says but Aubrey still looks skeptical.

“How are you going to manage that if I’m camera shy?” Aubrey challenges, smile tugging at her lips. 

“I have a team of five people and a lot of tricks up my sleeve, so don’t you worry,” Rosie says and the exaggerated self-assured tone makes Aubrey laugh loudly. 

She glances down quickly in concern, afraid she’s jostled Bella but the girl is fast asleep, face pressed against Aubrey’s shoulder and her hand limply by her side, having fallen from where she’d been playing with the sash on Aubrey’s dress. 

Stacie slides onto the chair on Aubrey’s free side as she tries not to let Beca’s words — “well Aubrey  _clearly_  has a type” — affect her demeanour too much. She slides her hand down Aubrey’s arm and the blonde turns to her with a soft smile. 

“Hey you,” Aubrey says and Stacie mirrors the smile. 

“Hey.” She looks down at Bella then, expression softening completely as she sees the girl asleep and comfortably cuddled against Aubrey. 

“Have you met Rosie?” Aubrey says, motions her head to the woman who’s watching them closely. 

“I have not,” Stacie says before turning her attention to the brunette. “Hi, I’m Stacie.” 

“Rosie, nice to meet you,” Rosie says, shifts her camera to her left hand to take Stacie’s offered hand and shake it. 

“What’s up?” Aubrey asks. 

“The caterer wants to talk to you about something,” Stacie says, throws her a wry smile as Aubrey groans. 

“She literally just fell asleep,” she explains, gestures down to Bella. 

“I’ll take her,” Stacie says, and Aubrey helps transfer the girl to Stacie’s arms, smiles when she curls into Stacie’s body. 

“I’m sorry, I have to go deal with this,” Aubrey says apologetically to Rosie but the woman waves away her concern. 

“Don’t worry about it,” Rosie says with a smile. 

Aubrey smiles at her quickly as she gets up, trails her fingers tenderly across Bella’s back and down Stacie’s arm as she walks away. 

“So, Rosie,” Stacie starts with a polite smile, turning to the brunette. “Are you married?” 

 

* * *

 

“Hang on, you let  _Amy_  organise our bachelorette party?” Beca asks loudly, staring at Aubrey with wide, panicked eyes. The bridal shower has wound down, and all the Bellas (plus partners) have ended up crowded around one table. 

“Hey!” Amy shouts, more as a token protest than anything. 

“That’s not what I said, Hobbit,” Aubrey says and Rosie snorts as she snaps another picture and Aubrey turns to her with a smug smile. “Amy can organise it but I get 100% veto power.” 

“Boo,” Amy says, holding her hands out with her thumbs down to show her displeasure but most of the other Bellas sigh with relief. 

“She can’t do a single thing without my approval first,” Aubrey explains, looks down quickly when Bella squirms in Stacie’s lap and ends up accidentally kicking Aubrey’s thigh, and she reaches down to hold the girl’s leg carefully to make sure it doesn’t happen again. 

“Sorry,” Bella whispers up at her and Aubrey smiles softly as Bella goes back to putting stickers in her doll book. 

“She’s so boring,” Amy says, shakes her head and Aubrey looks up to glare at Amy. “She vetoed so many great ideas.” 

“Some of them were pretty bad, Ames,” Stacie cuts in and Aubrey smiles smugly. “I mean, phallic shaped things are great, but not when it’s two women getting married.” 

Emily’s boyfriend Adam chokes on his drink and Emily pats his back sympathetically as the girls laugh at him. 

“That makes it extra funny!” Amy cuts in and Jessica snorts, shakes her head. 

“Not really,” Beca says ruefully and then Amy turns to her, clearly feeling betrayed. 

“What else did you shoot down?” Ashley asks Aubrey.

“Weekend in Vegas.” 

“Oof, thank you,” Flo says, shaking her head at the prospect of their group all together in Las Vegas, all too familiar with their penchant for getting into trouble. 

“Vegas might have been nice,” Chloe muses out loud and then they all turn to her in horror, with the exception of Amy, who looks buoyed by the words. 

“We could still do it!” Amy says loudly. 

“Then Aubrey and I are out,” Stacie says quickly and Aubrey nods in agreement. 

“We have Bella,” she adds on. 

“I have to request time off in advance, so I’m out,” Jessica says. 

“If she’s not going, I’m not going,” Ashley adds on. 

“That’s grossly domestic,” Cynthia Rose says with a laugh, but then her fiancée looks at her with an arched eyebrow and she leans in to quickly kiss her. “And also I can’t make it.” 

“That’s more like it,” Maxime says decisively and the girls all whoop and poke fun at Cynthia Rose. 

Amy makes a loud whipping sound, mimics cracking a whip and Cynthia Rose shakes her head and gives Amy the finger. 

“So no to Cynthia Rose, no to one-plus-one-makes-three,” Amy says, pointing at Aubrey and Stacie, “and no to these two,” she adds, points to Ashley and Jessica next to her, then looks to her other side and before she can even open her mouth to ask, Lilly is shaking her head. 

“No to me too,” Emily pipes up. “I’m so poor.” 

“All of this is exactly why we’re having a nice, relaxed bachelorette party in New York two days before the wedding,” Aubrey says and Chloe nods in understanding. 

“She even said no to strippers!” Amy says and Aubrey rolls her eyes. 

“More than half of this group is gay, Amy,” Beca says. “How would that work?” 

“Equal opportunity strippers,” Amy says seriously with a single nod. 

“What does that even m—” Flo asks but before she can even finish her question, Amy cuts in.  

“Male and female strippers!” Amy shouts and Beca looks pained as Chloe laughs loudly. 

Emily giggles, blushing furiously as she tries to picture it and Jessica buries her face in Ashley’s shoulder as she tries not to laugh too loudly. 

“Jesus, Amy,” Ashley says, shaking her head. 

“I already vetoed it,” Aubrey says with an eye roll. “It’s not going to happen.” 

“Some of us are not locked down yet—” Amy starts, gestures at Emily, Flo, Cynthia Rose, Jessica and Ashley. 

“Amy, we’re married,” Jessica says, motioning between herself and Ashley. 

Cynthia Rose makes a “huh?” sound as she points to Maxime. 

“I’m right here,” Adam pipes up at the same time that Emily says, “You’ve met Adam!” 

Amy carries on as if she hasn’t heard the protests, “—and we can’t all come home to mommy long legs over there, okay?” she says, points to Stacie. 

“Aww Ames,” Stacie starts in a sultry voice as she gives Amy her best bedroom look. “If you wanted to see my legs, all you had to do was ask.” 

She winks lewdly and Aubrey can’t help but laugh as she leans back, finds Stacie’s arm resting over the back of her chair. Stacie turns to look when Aubrey settles against her, and they exchange a quick, amused look. 

Amy splutters out a couple of unintelligible words and the group bursts into laughter. 

“Mommy,” Bella says then, drawing the attention of all the adults, and Stacie looks down and laughs when she sees that Bella has a sticker on her cheek and another on her forehead. 

“Yes, baby?” 

“What’s a stripper?” 

 

* * *

 

Beca and Chloe get ready in suites just opposite the hall from each other, and the bridesmaids stay with their respective bride. It also means that Bella stays with Stacie, but that after 45 minutes of being separated from Aubrey, begs to be let into the other suite. Stacie is in the middle of having her make-up done when Bella taps on her leg and asks to go to Aubrey, so Rosie offers to take her and Stacie lets them go with a grateful “Thanks!” 

Bella knows the door opposite is the one she needs, so she leads Rosie more than Rosie leads her, and Bella loudly bangs her palms on the hotel room door. 

Flo opens the suite door and when she sees the small girl, calls out behind her, “Aubrey, it’s your daughter!” 

Aubrey comes bounding over, face lighting up at the sight of Bella in her flower girl dress and Rosie already has her camera up to snap a picture of Aubrey’s expression.

“Look at you!” Aubrey says and Bella stops and twirls bashfully. “You look like a princess!” 

Aubrey isn’t in her dress yet, so she drops to her knees to hug Bella and the girl happily hugs her back. 

“Do you want to go show aunt Chloe your dress?” Aubrey asks, smooths a hand over Bella’s hair. 

Bella nods happily and Aubrey motions with her head for her to go. 

“Auntie Chloe look!” Bella says, hopping over to Chloe who turns to the girl with a wide smile. 

“You look perfect, sweetie,” Chloe says, but then she frowns and looks at Aubrey. “When are we doing the… flowers?” she asks, vaguely and awkwardly making a halo gesture over her head. 

“It’s the last thing we do before we go,” Aubrey explains. 

“How are we doing it? I really want to see it but I know Beca also wants to, and—” Chloe starts breathing hard as she lets her nerves get the better of her and Aubrey holds out her hands in a relaxing gesture. 

“Chlo, we’ve got it all under control. Don’t worry,” Aubrey says softly, reassuringly. 

An hour later, when everybody is dressed and ready to go, Stacie drags a dressing divider out into the hallway and places it between the two doors. All the bridesmaids pool out of the two suites, standing around and then Aubrey carefully leads Chloe out into the hallway, making sure she’s completely covered by the divider as Stacie starts leading Beca out into the hallway. Aubrey then leads Bella to stand in a spot where both Beca and Chloe, divided by the separator, can see the young girl. 

Stacie’s holding a small hatbox and she looks over to Rosie who gives her a thumbs up to go ahead, indicating her team is in place.

“Okay, Bella, one last thing before we go,” Stacie starts. “Your aunt Beca and Chloe are so happy you want to be their flower girl so they had this made for you to wear today.” 

Stacie opens the small hatbox she’s holding and shows Bella the small flower crown inside. The girl’s mouth splits into a wide smile and she turns to the two brides, runs over to hug Beca then Chloe as Stacie pulls the flower crown out of the hatbox. 

As Stacie’s putting the crown on Bella’s head, she sees tears spring to the girl’s eyes so she leans in close and gives her an Eskimo kiss as she clips the last piece into place to keep the flower crown from sliding off Bella’s head. 

“I love you, baby,” Stacie whispers softly, pressing their foreheads together. 

“I love you too, mommy.” 

 

* * *

 

Beca’s looking forward to relaxing at the reception, the most difficult part being over and she’s cuddled up to Chloe when she notices Chloe look over her shoulder and say, “Oh no.” 

She follows Chloe’s gaze to see Amy holding a microphone and then her own eyes widen. 

“Oh no,” she says.

“Alright DJ,” Fat Amy starts and the music cuts out sharply, getting the attention of all the wedding guests. 

“Ohh no,” Beca repeats, her tone much more dreadful this time. 

Neither Beca nor Chloe notice that all their bridesmaids are missing, not even when Bella runs over and pats Beca’s thigh and she ends up lifting the young girl to sit in her lap. 

“Beca and Chloe,” Amy starts, tracing a heart over her chest. “Bhloe. There are many things I can say to embarrass you, like how you two used to cuddle in bed and kiss each other in our New York apartment while I was there, pretending to sleep but secretly texting all the other Bella’s about your cutesy domesticity. I can talk about how Beca stayed three extra years in college to be with Chloe, and how Chloe was a senior for four times to be with Beca,” Amy continues and while Beca is trying to brace herself for the inevitable oversharing, Chloe has a hand on her chest and looks close to tears. 

“Bella, earmuffs. Beca, cover Bella’s ears,” Amy instructs and Beca’s slow to comprehend but luckily Chloe’s hands fly over the four-year-old’s ears, finding that Bella has already followed the instruction and has covered her ears with her hands. 

“I can tell you all about the time Beca and Chloe had sex in the kitchen and forgot that I also lived with them and fell asleep in the kitchen so I came home to find them naked on the floor…” 

A ripple of laughter goes through the crowd as Beca hisses a loud, “Amy!” 

“I can give these and many more examples of those two being bloody gross with their lovin’.” 

“Please don’t!” Chloe calls out. 

“But we know Beca and Chloe were made for each other by the bug tattoos on their wrists. We love you, Bhloe,” Fat Amy says directly to them and Beca is trying not to cry as Chloe mouths “we love you too” back to Amy with tears in her eyes. 

“Usually Beca makes our mashups because as we all know, she is an international superstar now, but since this is a surprise, we’ve had to rely on the subpar mixings of Lilly’s boytoy Sparrow.” 

There’s a small hoot from one of the tables. 

“So, without further ado, for one night, and one night only, the Barden Bellas!” 

Amy yells into the mic and several people wince at the loud tone but Beca is sitting up straighter as Chloe squeals loudly, clapping her hands in anticipation. 

Lilly appears in the middle of the dance floor, still in her bridesmaid dress but wearing her Bellas scarf around her wrist as she starts beatboxing and laying down a beat. 

One by one the Bellas come out, each sporting their Bellas scarf around their wrist and harmonising to sing a mash-up of songs, including a few of Beca’s own singles. They end with the traditional hands-in huddle move that they’re known for and when they strike their final pose, the crowd of wedding guests erupts into cheers and claps, giving the women a standing ovation. 

“Stay here, Bells,” Beca instructs quickly as she stands up and puts Bella in the seat she’s just been in. 

Chloe waits for Beca, slips her hand into the brunette’s as they hurriedly make their way over to the Bellas and pull them into a group hug. 

Stacie pulls away from the hug enough to look sideways, sees Bella sitting at the bridal table and watching them with a deep frown and it makes her laugh. When Bella makes eye contact with her mother, Stacie gestures her over and the girl’s face lights up as she squirms off the chair and crawls under the table to avoid having to run around it. She crashes into Stacie’s legs and Stacie lifts her onto her hip, kissing Bella’s cheek quickly as Beca and Chloe gush with the Bellas about their performance. 

 

* * *

 

Bella is comfortably sat on Stacie’s lap with her legs thrown over Aubrey's when Adam approaches the front of the bridal table and smiles when all three look up at him curiously. 

“Bella,” he starts smoothly, “I was wondering if you’d like to dance with me?” 

Aubrey and Stacie smile down at the girl who lights up at the request, nodding vigorously and Adam chuckles. 

“Can I?” she asks, quickly glancing up at Stacie for permission. 

“Go ahead,” Stacie encourages and Bella squirms out of her lap, tossing her etch-a-sketch to the side and Aubrey catches it just before it crashes to the floor. 

“ _Around_  the table,” Stacie scolds, grasping at Bella’s dress when the girl moves to crawl under the table again. 

Adam laughs when Bella pouts but the girl complies, walking around the long table and smiling back at Aubrey and Stacie when Adam takes her hand and leads her to the dance floor. 

“What a charmer,” Aubrey says with a laugh and Stacie shakes her head with amusement as they watch the pair. 

Rosie snaps a picture of Aubrey and Stacie, is about to take another one as the two look at each other but then a body bumps into her and she loses the shot. 

“Oh, I’m so sorry!” Emily says, eyes going wide as she notices who she’s bumped into. “Oh no, did I ruin the photo?” 

“No, it’s alright,” Rosie reassures but Emily still seems mildly remorseful so Rosie points to the couple still sat at the long table and Emily turns her head to look. “I already have plenty of pictures of the two of them.” 

“Okay,” Emily says, sighs in relief and then smiles softly when Aubrey says something that makes Stacie laugh loudly. 

“How long have they been together?” Rosie asks, frowning when Emily hesitates. 

“I’m not sure.” 

“What?” 

Emily glances at Rosie before turning back to look at Aubrey and Stacie with a soft shake of the head. “They moved in together last summer, so obviously before that.” 

“Are they very private?” 

“Super,” Emily says. “I tried asking Jessica and Ashley about it but they can’t figure out the timeline either.” 

They both look back to the table where Aubrey is trying to shush Stacie but the woman is almost crying with tears. 

“At least they’re happy together,” Rosie comments and Emily nods in agreement. 

 

* * *

 

“Hi!” Bella says, tugging softly on Aubrey’s dress. The blonde breaks away from her conversation to look down at the young girl, smiles at the sight of Bella’s happy grin. 

“Hi baby girl,” Aubrey says, hand falling to the top of Bella’s head tenderly as she glances at the two men she’d been talking to, sees how they’re watching the interaction with smiles. “You having fun?” 

“Uh-huh! Aunt Beca told me to call you,” Bella says, points to the bride and Aubrey follows the direction, finds Beca watching them closely. 

Aubrey turns to the men, a quick apology falling from her lips as she lets herself be led back over to the bridal table. 

“Hey, everything alright?” Aubrey asks as she approaches. 

“We’re cutting the cake soon and Chloe wants to make sure you’re all around for that,” Beca says and Aubrey smiles. 

“Cake?” Bella asks immediately, eyes going wide as she presses herself against Aubrey’s leg, looking up at the blonde with her chin against Aubrey’s thigh as she wraps her arms around the woman’s leg. 

Beca and Aubrey laugh at how excited Bella sounds. 

“Where’s Stacie?” Beca asks then and Aubrey frowns, looks around the room. 

“I don’t know,” Aubrey says. 

“I’m gonna go find her. Chlo wants everybody there,” Beca explains but Aubrey stops her with a hand on her arm. 

“You have to cut the cake, I’ll go find her,” Aubrey offers and Beca nods, grateful. 

“Do you wanna go with aunt Bree or with me?” Beca asks, crouching down at Bella’s level and the girl quickly hugs her so Beca thinks she’s victorious, until Bella pulls away and steps close to Aubrey again. 

“I wanna stay with her,” Bella says with a smile and Beca’s mouth drops open in betrayal as she stands up again. 

“I can’t believe this,” Beca grumbles. “I got her a flower crown.” 

“And I have a pool,” Aubrey teases darkly and Beca narrows her eyes at the blonde. “Go cut the cake with your new wife.” 

Beca melts at the title, tries to suppress a smile and stay annoyed at Aubrey but she can’t, and Aubrey laughs at her as she turns to leave, Bella’s hand clasped firmly in hers. 

Aubrey can’t find Stacie anywhere and she starts getting worried, but Bella keeps tugging her in the direction of where a crowd has gathered to see Beca and Chloe cut the cake and Aubrey isn’t sure where else to look so she lets Bella drag her towards the cake. 

“I can’t see,” Bella pouts, so she ends up lifting Bella onto her hip with an exaggerated groan, the girl giggling happily as she loops her arms around Aubrey’s neck. 

“How’s that?” Aubrey asks, tightens her arms around the young girl. 

“Good,” Bella says with a resolute nod. 

Aubrey’s already smiling, but her smile widens when she feels a familiar hand slide along her back, settle on her hip. 

“Hey you,” Aubrey says, shifts slightly to look at Stacie over Bella’s shoulder. “We’ve been looking everywhere for you.” 

“I got into a discussion with Chloe’s cousin about vaccines in the bathroom,” Stacie says darkly and Aubrey laughs. 

“Who won?” 

Stacie shoots her an insulted look, leans away a bit for emphasis. “You have to ask?” 

“I just wanted to confirm,” Aubrey teases with a quick eye roll. 

Stacie makes eye contact with Ashley, who gestures them over, so Stacie apologises as she pushes through the people, leads Aubrey and Bella to stand with the other bridesmaids and when Chloe sees them, she smiles widely. 

Bella keeps her arms tightly around Aubrey’s neck so Aubrey doesn’t even try to set her down, leans back as Stacie keeps her hand on Aubrey’s lower back. 

“Cake,” Bella whispers in awe then, and both adults follow Bella’s line of sight to where Beca and Chloe have just cut out a piece of cake. “I want cake,” Bella murmurs to herself and Stacie laughs, leans in to quickly kiss the top of Bella’s head. 

“Mommy can I have cake?” Bella asks, looks up at Stacie and when Stacie looks like she’s thinking hard about the answer, Bella turns to Aubrey. “Please?” 

She’s giving them the puppy dog eyes, lower lip jutting out pitifully as she glances between the two adults. 

“Hmm,” Aubrey hums. “Stacie?” 

“A small piece,” Stacie says and Bella smiles triumphantly, does a small victory jig that makes them laugh as she cuddles back into Aubrey. 

Stacie shifts closer then, wraps her arm around Aubrey’s waist as she turns to look at the blonde, Aubrey returning her soft smile. 

 

* * *

 

The DJ is playing some slow music and Aubrey’s sitting at the table, looking extremely relaxed and happy with herself at how well everything turned out when Stacie walks up to the front of the table, blocks the blonde’s view. 

“Hey,” Aubrey says, eyes trailing slowly up Stacie’s body to meet a grin. 

“Hey,” Stacie replies, glances at the chairs lined up behind Aubrey where Bella is knocked out, dead asleep under a blanket. “Can I have this dance?” 

Aubrey quickly glances behind her at Bella but then seems to hesitate, small smile on her face as she looks at Stacie with an inquisitive look. 

“Or would you rather dance with one of Chloe’s brothers?” Stacie teases and she can see Aubrey’s eyes flick over to the table where Chloe’s three older brothers are sitting and softly shakes her head. 

“I’ll dance with you,” Aubrey says and Stacie grins. She extends her hand and wriggles her fingers as if taunting Aubrey to refuse to take her hand. Aubrey slides her hand into Stacie’s, lets herself be led out onto the dance floor. 

Stacie wraps an arm around Aubrey’s middle and pulls her close, but then Aubrey surprises her by stepping even closer and looping both her arms around Stacie’s neck, making their embrace a lot more intimate. 

They’re swaying to the music, pressed so closely together that Aubrey knows she could just lean in and kiss Stacie.

“Have I told you how beautiful you look yet?” Stacie says, shaking Aubrey out of her thoughts. 

“No,” Aubrey says, but she can’t help but smile teasingly. “You’ve used the words ‘super hot’ and ‘banging’ though.” 

Stacie rolls her eyes, shifts them so she can press her lips against Aubrey’s cheek in a soft kiss. “You look beautiful, Aubrey.” 

“Thank you, Stacie,” Aubrey whispers, eyes sliding closed. “You look stunning.” 

“You’re gorgeous.” 

“Is this going to become a compliment competition?” Aubrey teases and Stacie chuckles, arms tightening around Aubrey. 

“No,” Stacie whispers into her ear and she can feel Aubrey smile. 

“Good… because I’d win.” 

“At receiving compliments, maybe,” Stacie whispers in challenge and Aubrey pulls her head back enough to look the brunette in the eye. 

Stacie is staring at her in challenge, mouth pulled in a playful smile and Aubrey’s eyes drift down to the woman’s lips, breathing in deeply. 

Stacie’s thumb is stroking softly across Aubrey back, slowly and maddeningly, and Stacie can’t stop looking at Aubrey’s eyes, dark with desire and at first she thinks it’s a trick of the low light but they’re still moving to the music, and when they turn Stacie suddenly remembers why that stormy glint in those green eyes looks so familiar and then she’s filled with hope. 

Aubrey sways closer, arms tightening around her neck as she leans in and then Stacie’s the one holding her breath, anticipation killing her as she waits for Aubrey to close the gap between them. 

The lights suddenly flip up as the DJ changes the song and the tempo picks up and Aubrey freezes, eyes guarded as she pulls away with a shake of her head. 

“I’m sorry,” she whispers and then she’s gone and Stacie’s left frowning in confusion on the dance floor. 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this is a 5+1 format story guys, so you know what that means!  
> Also, leave me comments because they make me SO HAPPY like you wouldn't believe


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry.

Aubrey’s phone is ringing and she’s swamped with paperwork but when she sees the unfamiliar number, she gets a bad feeling in her gut and picks up the call. 

“Hello?” 

“Is this Aubrey Posen?” 

“Yes, who’s asking?” 

“Hi Aubrey, it’s Tess Mulvaney, we met a few months ago when you dropped Bella off at preschool?” 

“Yes, I remember,” Aubrey answers, voice sharp, her heart already racing. “Is there something wrong?” 

“I’m at Tysons Medical Center with Bella. I’ve been trying to call Stacie but I can’t reach her and you’re Bella’s other emergency contact,” Tess explains and Aubrey feels her heart stop beating for a second, fear gripping her. 

“What—what’s wrong? What happened?” Aubrey asks, saving her work on her computer before starting to preemptively toss her things into her bag. 

“She was a little feverish this morning and suddenly she was having trouble breathing so we called an ambulance who brought us to the hospital to get her checked out.” 

“Is she okay?” Aubrey asks, and dread and panic settle firmly in her gut. She’s standing up, trying to figure out what she needs to take with her but she can’t focus on anything except the phone call. Her colleague Martin comes into her office with a knock on the doorframe, and he pauses when he sees Aubrey’s expression. 

“They gave her meds and she’s already breathing easier, but she has the croup and I really think you should come to Tysons to talk to the doctor.”

“Yes, of course, I’m on my way,” Aubrey says. 

“Okay, I’ll leave your name at the desk.” 

“Thank you, Tess,” she says, voice thick as she hangs up. 

“Is everything okay?” Martin asks, looks alarmed when he sees how scattered Aubrey looks. 

“I have to go,” Aubrey says, but when she reaches for her car keys they both notice how much her hands are shaking. 

Martin steps closer, holds out his hand in a calming gesture but doesn’t touch her. 

“What’s wrong?” 

“Bella’s in the hospital,” Aubrey whispers, closes her eyes firmly to compose herself, trying not to cry as she presses her hands into her desk and drops her head.

“Go,” Martin says. “We’ll handle things here.” 

Aubrey opens her eyes, shoots him a grateful look. “Thank you.” 

“Please drive carefully,” he says with a stern tone and it brings a soft smile to her face. 

“Thank you,” she repeats, whispers the words as she grabs her things and leaves. 

 

* * *

 

She strides into the hospital exactly 23 minutes later, making her way towards the ER. 

“Hello, I’m here for Isabella Conrad? My name is Aubrey Posen.” 

The nurse at the desk looks up at her, expression softening. She quickly glances at a post-it note stuck to the desk and nods. “Follow me.” 

Aubrey is led through to the back and then the nurse pulls back curtain 15. Aubrey smiles gratefully at the nurse as she turns to find Tess standing over the emergency room bed, a humidifier blowing over Bella who’s laying in bed, clearly uncomfortable. 

Tess looks relieved to see her, and Bella tears up at the sight of Aubrey. 

“Oh, baby girl,” Aubrey says, heart breaking at the sight of the girl. 

“She’s not supposed to cry, it’s bad for her lungs,” Tess quickly whispers to her. 

“Don’t cry, sweetheart,” Aubrey begs, contradicts herself when she tears up herself. She carefully lifts Bella into her arms, holds the girl tightly against her chest and Tess adjusts the humidifier to blow on them. “Shh,” Aubrey coos, breathing calmly to encourage Bella to stop crying. 

Bella is warm to the touch and Aubrey can’t help but hold her tighter. 

“It’s okay,” Aubrey whispers when Bella whimpers against her and she’s not sure if she’s saying it for herself or for the girl. She notices the IV line coming out of Bella’s arm and turns to softly ask Tess, “What did they give her?” 

“Epinephrine and steroids. I wrote down the names somewhere,” Tess says, starts looking around the small space and her sudden need to find the piece of paper shows Aubrey how anxious the woman really is. 

“It’s okay, it’s not urgent. Thank you for calling me, Tess,” Aubrey says, tries to reassure the woman. 

Tess manages a tight smile, occasionally glancing down at Bella in concern. 

“Can you try calling Stacie again?” Aubrey requests softly and the woman nods. “Have you eaten at all?” Tess shakes her head. “How about you go to the cafeteria, try calling Stacie again and have a bite to eat?” 

“Are you sure? I can stay and—” 

Aubrey nods sharply, shoots Tess a reassuring smile. “You’re no good to me if you’re not at your best,” she says. “I’ve got her.” 

Tess manages a small smile and with a soft flit of her fingers over Bella’s forehead, she disappears around the curtain. 

“Where’s mommy?” Bella croaks out, voice cracking and she whimpers again, buries her face in Aubrey’s neck and Aubrey’s heart breaks all over again.

“She’ll be here soon, baby,” Aubrey soothes, pressing a lingering kiss to Bella’s forehead. 

The doctor comes in a little later and talks to her, gives Aubrey a prescription and a list of things to do at home to alleviate Bella’s discomfort, strict instructions to come back if she has trouble breathing again. He’s ready to discharge Bella when Aubrey realises she can’t sign her out and the doctor shakes his head and says that they'll need to wait for Stacie. 

She thanks the doctor and Bella curls closer into her. She tries to set Bella down in bed when the girl starts dozing off, but then Bella freaks out and throws a fit, clinging onto Aubrey who doesn’t try to lay her down in the bed again after that. 

Tess sits with them for another hour before Aubrey sends her home, has to force the woman to leave, thanks her for all the help and Aubrey can see that Tess is hesitant to leave Bella and it warms her heart to see how protective the woman is of Bella. 

“There’s nothing else you can do here. I promise I’ll text you with updates,” Aubrey says and that settles it for Tess. 

Aubrey keeps calling Stacie, drops down into the chair and sits as Bella softly slips in and out of sleep while pressed against her. 

It’s hours later when Stacie finally picks up. “Aubrey? What’s wrong? I have 24 missed calls from Tess,” Stacie says in a panic. 

“Bella’s okay,” Aubrey says strongly, knows that Stacie must be spiralling into bad thoughts. “I need you to come to Tysons Med. She was having trouble breathing this morning but it’s all under control but I can’t take her home without your signature.” 

“Oh my god,” Stacie says, and Aubrey can practically hear her freak out. 

“Stacie…” When the woman doesn’t respond, Aubrey quickly glances down at the sleeping girl in her arms, holds her phone closer to her mouth as she hisses, “Stacie!” 

“Yeah?” 

“She’s okay. Stacie, she’s going to be okay.” 

“Okay,” Stacie says shakily. 

“You just need to come sign her out so we can go home,” Aubrey explains. 

“Okay. Tysons, that’s—that’s the one close to home?” 

“Yes.” 

“Okay, I’m leaving now.” 

“Stacie, she’s going to be okay.” 

 

* * *

 

Aubrey looks at her watch when she hears Stacie’s voice down the hall, frowning at how quickly the woman made it to the hospital before the curtain is softly pulled back. Stacie freezes, face crumpling, tears springing to her eyes when she sees Aubrey sitting in a chair, Bella slumped against her looking miserable. 

“Look who’s here,” Aubrey softly whispers to Bella, but the girl is too tired to move her head. 

“Mommy?” she whispers in a raspy voice that breaks Stacie’s heart and she’s striding over from where she’d been frozen at the edge of the space. 

Aubrey’s already getting up and easily hands Bella over to her mother, the girl curling close to Stacie. Aubrey stays close, can feel Stacie vibrating with tension. 

“She’s going to be okay,” Aubrey whispers into her ear and Stacie’s eyes close as she leans into Aubrey, their cheeks pressed together. 

“Fuck,” Stacie breathes, and Aubrey reaches out to softly rub her back. “I forgot my phone in my office and I had back to back classes, I didn’t—” She chokes up, can’t finish the sentence and Aubrey shifts, urges Stacie to look at her. 

“You can’t cry,” Aubrey says, reaches up to wipe away the stray tear on Stacie’s cheek. “She’s not allowed to cry so you can’t cry.” 

“Can we go home?” Stacie whispers and Aubrey nods, goes to get the nurse. 

 

* * *

 

Hours later when they’re back at home, Aubrey is going up the stairs to check up on Bella and finds Stacie on the floor, leaning against Bella’s bedroom door, head in her hands. She sees shoulders shake and knows instantly that Stacie’s crying. Dropping to her knees in front of the brunette, Aubrey places a hand on Stacie’s knee to soothe her. 

“Hey,” Aubrey whispers and Stacie looks up at her, eyes red and cheeks wet with tears. “She’s going to be okay,” Aubrey says and Stacie knows she’s right. The doctor had been so kind and explained it all to them, had said that it’ll be unpleasant for Bella for another day or two but that she would be completely happy and healthy in no time at all.

She  _knows_  that, but it’s still hard to see her baby in pain. 

“She must have been so scared and I wasn’t there,” Stacie sobs, dropping her face back onto her knees and Aubrey shifts, moves to sit next to her on the floor. 

“There’s nothing you could have done. These things happen,” Aubrey says, shakes her head as she tries to reassure Stacie even though her own heart hurts. 

“I feel like such a bad mother,” Stacie confesses in a small voice. “I’m failing her.” She starts crying again and Aubrey tries, she really tries not to cry as well but then in a broken voice Stacie says, “She deserves so much better than me.” 

Aubrey closes her eyes, lets the tears fall because she doesn’t know how to comfort Stacie and everything hurts. 

“You’re not failing her,” Aubrey whispers strongly. 

“So why does it feel like I am?” Stacie sobs. 

Aubrey opens her eyes and looks at Stacie, sees her shoulders shake as her body is wracked with tears and she pulls Stacie against her, wraps her arms around her in comfort. 

Aubrey’s not sure how long they sit there for, but Stacie’s tears finally slow after a while. 

“Will you become Bella’s legal guardian?” Stacie asks and it’s so sudden and unexpected, and it catches Aubrey completely by surprise. 

“What?” 

Stacie pulls away to sit up, and she sniffles softly as she wipes away fresh tears. 

“You were in the hospital for hours and you didn’t need to be. If you were her legal guardian, you could have brought her home,” Stacie says strongly, even though her voice wavers slightly from her tears. 

“Stacie…” Aubrey starts, flounders when she realises she’s not sure how to phrase what she wants to say. “We should discuss this later,” she finally says, hopes the “when you’re not so emotional” is understood but hurt flashes across Stacie’s face as she pulls even further away, frowns. 

“Stacie…” Aubrey whispers, but the brunette is studiously avoiding her gaze as she stares at the wall opposite. 

“No, I get it,” Stacie says, voice thick and Aubrey feels dread settle in the pit of her stomach. “It’s okay,” Stacie says, wipes away her tears and gets up. She tries to shoot Aubrey a smile, but it looks more like a grimace and then she walks away. 

 

* * *

 

They’re sitting side by side, slumped on the couch and completely exhausted. Stacie’s feet are up on the coffee table, her phone unlocked with the screen showing the feed from the camera they installed in Bella’s room when they’d first moved in. 

Bella’s asleep, and even though her breaths are raspy, her breathing is even and steady and it’s a small relief. 

Stacie feels like she’s been on the brink of tears all night, fatigue and concern keeping her on edge. 

“You should sleep,” Aubrey says, bumps Stacie’s shoulder with her own. “I’ll wake you up in a couple of hours,” she offers. 

They both know that Aubrey is way better at staying up late than Stacie, and Aubrey doesn’t like how bone-weary Stacie looks. 

“No, it’s fine, I’m up,” Stacie says in protest but then she yawns as soon as the words are out of her mouth and contradicts herself. 

“You’re literally falling asleep,” Aubrey says, gaze trailing over the brunette who’s staring intently at her phone. 

Stacie feels raw, and the amusing lilt to Aubrey’s words rubs her the wrong way and she’s too tired to stop herself when she says, “Don’t worry about it,” with a little too much bitterness colouring the words. 

She wants to sleep, she wants her baby to be healthy, and she wants to pretend this whole fucking day never happened. 

Aubrey’s watching her closely, doesn’t understand the annoyance coming off Stacie in waves but definitely not liking the sharp tone. 

“What’s that supposed to mean?” 

“I can do this,” Stacie says with a sigh, closing her eyes and leaning her head back against the couch heavily. She can’t look at Aubrey, hates what she’s saying but too powerless to stop herself. 

Aubrey can’t get over how downtrodden Stacie looks, so she’s confused by the woman continually denying her offer to help. 

“I’m trying to help you,” she says, tone bordering on desperate. “Why won’t you let me?”

“Don’t worry about it, Aubrey,” Stacie says, shakes her head and Aubrey definitely doesn’t like the way her name sounds falling from Stacie’s lips; it makes something coil tightly in her stomach. 

She frowns when Stacie gets up and leaves without another word, and she’s too tired to try to pinpoint the issue here. 

The problem is that the longer she sits there on the couch, the longer she has to mull it over and the longer her feeling of dread has to fester as she becomes more assured that she hasn’t done anything wrong and indignation burns through her. 

With a soft groan she gets up off the couch, follows Stacie into the kitchen and leans against the wall behind her as she watches Stacie turn on the coffee maker and studiously avoid Aubrey’s eyes. 

“What’s the problem?” she snaps and her brain is a swirling mixture of annoyed, upset and tired and she knows rationally that she has to let this go for now, that she has to deal with this in the morning when they’ve both had some sleep because nothing good can come from arguing this at 3 am but her emotions are clearly in charge and don’t seem to want to listen to any logical thought. 

“I don’t need your help,” Stacie snaps back, but she deflates almost immediately, plants her hands against the counter to hold herself up. “I can take care of Bella,” she says and tries to make it sound as calm and as innocently as she can even though she’s hurting. 

“I’m just trying to help. Why are you being short with me?” Stacie’s still hunched over at the counter and Aubrey crosses her arms with a frown. “Stacie, will you just look at me?” 

“Why won’t you be Bella’s legal guardian?” Stacie finally snaps, clenching her jaw as she caves and looks up to stare at Aubrey. 

Her eyes are filled with anger and Aubrey’s taken aback by it. 

“What?” she whispers, clearly surprised, but Stacie can see her run through their conversation, can see Aubrey fit the puzzle pieces together. “That’s what this is about?!” she exclaims, and she’s finally matching Stacie’s angry energy and Stacie’s not sure if that’s good or bad. 

“I’m getting very mixed signals from you, Aubrey,” Stacie says and now Aubrey is really upset. 

Stacie’s taking her initial hesitance completely out of proportion and is lashing out unfairly and if there’s one thing that Aubrey hates, it’s being treated unfairly. 

“Do you think I don’t care about Bella?” she asks, words sharp and there’s a warning edge there and Stacie looks away from her, shoulders sagging. 

She closes her eyes, sighs deeply because she knows she’s being unreasonable and she doesn’t want to have this fight in the middle of the night when she knows they’ll fight dirty.

“No, it’s—never mind,” Stacie says with a soft shake of the head, but it’s too late.

“No,  _Stacie_ , I want to unpack that statement,” she pushes.

“I’m not one of your corporate clients, Aubrey, don’t treat me like one,” Stacie snaps instinctively, rolls her eyes. 

“Then talk to me!” 

“Why won’t you be her legal guardian?”

“I don’t think it’ll change anything,” Aubrey says but there’s so much more she’s not saying and Stacie knows it. 

“She was in the hospital for hours. You want to help? This is how you can help.” 

“You’re being irrational. This is a one-in-a-million circumstance and I don’t think we should be making any rash decisions because of it.” 

“I guess it just has me re-evaluating some things,” Stacie says darkly and she can see how much the words hurt Aubrey but she doesn’t back down, stares at the blonde head-on. 

Aubrey shakes her head softly, can’t believe what Stacie’s trying to say. 

“Screw you, Stacie,” Aubrey says, voice tight and it feels like it’s getting harder to breathe by the minute. “I love that girl to death. How dare you imply that I don’t?” 

“So why won’t you even consider making a commitment to her?” Stacie says, sounding desperate. 

“I’ll commit to her any day of the week!” Aubrey snaps. 

“So it’s me that’s the problem?” Stacie argues loudly. 

“Stop putting words in my mouth!” 

“It’s what you’re implying, though, isn’t it?” Stacie’s tone is vicious and spiteful and it pushes Aubrey over the edge.

“Being her legal guardian means the law gets involved, and I don’t even know what we are to each other!” Aubrey’s filled with hot rage at Stacie’s accusation, and she can feel her fingers tremble and she hates this, hates that she lets emotions get the better of her like this but she’s on her last legs and the last thing she wants or needs is Stacie accusing her of not caring enough when all she’s ever done is care too much.

“If I’m her legal guardian, you can’t even cross state lines without my permission. Did you know that? So what happens when you meet the first person to treat you decently and want to run off to play happy family and I’m still her legal guardian?” 

The insult is low, and Aubrey regrets it as soon as she says it, sees the hurt and heartbreak flash in Stacie’s eyes and Aubrey knows that that look is going to haunt her worst nights. She lashed out and she’s pushed them past the point of no return but when she opens her mouth, ready to apologise, Stacie’s expression shifts and gives her pause.

Hurt flows through Stacie like hot lava and she’s been holding back her feelings for so long, has been pushing this to the back of her mind for too long that she doesn’t even have to pause before she responds to Aubrey because she’s had more than six years to get the words just right, to get them precise and calculating and  _deliberate_.

“Why are you implying I have one foot out the door when we both know you’re the expert at running away from everything and everyone?” 

Aubrey feels like she’s been slapped and she has to look away from Stacie’s piercing gaze, can’t handle the pure contempt she sees there. Stacie’s words had been intended to cause pain and she’d succeeded. 

“That’s not fair,” she whispers and she’s surprised she manages that much because she feels like she can’t breathe, she feels like there’s a cold hand wrapped around her neck and it won’t stop squeezing.

“Isn’t it?” 

Stacie expects to feel relieved that she’s finally gotten to say the words, but her anger fizzles out surprisingly quickly then and is replaced with pure dread when her eyes readjust and she processes the sight of tears pooling in Aubrey’s eyes. She looks away, gaze flitting down to where Aubrey’s hands are next to her body and they’re trembling and suddenly Stacie regrets everything, regrets bringing this up, regrets being petty, regrets engaging in the argument and she feels like she’s going to be sick. 

She runs a hand through her hair as her breathing becomes stunted, the reality of her words crashing down on her and, “Fuck.” 

Aubrey doesn’t know what she’s supposed to say and she doesn’t even know if she can speak, doesn’t trust her voice because she feels cold, so cold, like somebody’s just dropped a bucket of ice water on her and she’s not sure what she’s supposed to do now. 

“Aubrey,” Stacie whispers pleadingly. Aubrey’s face is blank but her eyes are loud with hurt and Stacie almost can’t handle it, can’t look at those deep green eyes pooling with unshed tears. “Aubrey, I—” 

Aubrey lifts her hand to halt Stacie’s words, voice cracking when she says, “Stop.” 

Stacie’s hand flies up to cover her mouth as she chokes back a sob, trying not to cry when she hears how broken Aubrey’s voice sounds. 

Aubrey shakes her head, breath hitching and she feels like she’s choking, feels like she’s being suffocated by the air around her so she turns on her heel and leaves without a word. 

 

* * *

 

Aubrey lies in bed wide awake for hours, the conversation replaying itself in her head on a loop and she can’t get it to stop. 

The sun is rising when her door opens, and she expects it to be Stacie so she doesn’t move but then she’s surprised when she sees Bella standing in the doorway. 

She sees tears on the girl’s face and she’s up in a flash, scooping Bella up in her arms when she starts coughing and scratching at her neck. 

“What are you doing out of bed, sweetheart?” Aubrey gently asks as she carries the four-year-old into the bathroom and turns on the shower at its hottest setting. 

“Mommy’s asleep an’ it hurts,” Bella whines around a cough, voice hoarse as she tries to scratch at her neck and it physically pains Aubrey to hear her small, strained voice. 

“It’s okay, baby,” Aubrey soothes as she cradles the girl against her, noting that Bella’s no longer feverish but that her breath is still stunted. 

She turns off the water when the whole room is enveloped in warm steam and Bella starts breathing a little easier. 

“Do you still feel yucky?” Aubrey asks, lips pressed against Bella’s forehead and lingering there. 

Bella nods, but she’s no longer coughing which is a relief. 

“Do you want to take a warm bath?” Aubrey offers, can feel Bella’s pyjamas clammy with sweat and she’d rather not have the girl sleep in them. “It’ll make your skin feel nice.” 

Bella’s nodding, so Aubrey softly rubs the girl’s back as she reaches out to fill the bathtub with water. When the tub is full enough, she swirls her hand through the water to make sure it’s not too hot before setting Bella on the floor to strip her of her clothes. 

“You can’t go in with your blankie,” Aubrey says, tugging softly at the fabric that Bella refuses to relinquish. 

Bella tries to give her sad puppy dog eyes, but Aubrey’s adamant, holding out her hand for Bella to give the blanket to her, which she does with a soft pout. Tossing it onto the counter, she then lifts Bella into the bath and the girl sighs when the warm water hits her skin. 

“Is that nice?” Aubrey asks and Bella nods. “I don’t have any toys for you here, I’m sorry,” Aubrey says, stands up so she can go get her shower and bath gel and pours some into the bath with Bella, who then makes grabby motions with her hands so Aubrey hands her the bottles for her to play with. 

She’s splashing around, making bubbles and even though the sounds are raspy and strained, Aubrey feels so relieved that the girl is laughing. She lets Bella play for ten minutes before she starts actually washing her and Bella giggles breathlessly when Aubrey pours water over her head. Aubrey quickly washes Bella’s hair and passes a washcloth over the girl to make sure she’s clean. 

By the time she’s done, the water’s cooling and she knows she needs to get Bella out of the bath before she gets cold. 

“You get a big, fluffy towel,” Aubrey says, trying to entice the girl and Bella falls for it, standing up and letting Aubrey scoop her up in the towel. 

It’s already a large towel for an adult, so Bella is swallowed by it and Aubrey chuckles softly when Bella pulls the towel over her head. She takes the opportunity to towel dry the four-year-old’s hair, wraps her more comfortably in the fabric and sets her down on the bathroom counter, holding her there with one hand while the other one reaches below for the hairdryer she always keeps there. 

Putting it on the lowest heat and speed setting, she turns on the hairdryer and playfully blows it over Bella’s body who laughs, but it comes out more like a wheeze. She doesn’t want Bella sleeping with wet hair so it’s quick work of drying Bella’s hair, and the girl is all smiles when she’s completely dry. 

Lifting Bella back down to the floor, the little girl quickly leaves the bathroom, the towel wrapped around her and trailing behind her and it makes Aubrey smile. She drains the tub and grabs the neglected blankie, turning off the bathroom light as she closes the door behind her and her face softens when she finds Bella curled up in her bed. 

“You don’t want to sleep in your own bed?” Bella shakes her head. “Do you want to put on jammies?” she asks and Bella shakes her head again, but Aubrey doesn’t want her to sleep naked because she’s bound to become cold. “How about you wear my Bellas t-shirt?” she offers. 

Bella’s pout transforms into a smile and she nods eagerly so Aubrey rifles through her closet for her blue Barden Bellas shirt, smiles when she finds it, unfolding the soft cotton. 

“Hands up,” Aubrey says and Bella sits up and follows her instructions, lifting her arms so Aubrey can pull the shirt on her. Aubrey tugs the towel away from Bella and lets the girl settle again. 

She turns away to fling the towel on the floor next to the bathroom door and when she turns back, Bella has completely burrowed under the sheets so only her eyes are visible. 

“Cuddles?” Bella rasps out and Aubrey can’t resist her no matter how much her heart is hurting so she slides into bed and smiles when Bella curls up to her. She has her blankie in a tight fist under her chin as the other hand starts playing with Aubrey’s hair, and when Aubrey turns to look at her, Bella asks, “Can you sing?” 

“Of course, baby,” Aubrey whispers and Bella smiles, settles against her. “ _You are my sunshine, my only sunshine. You make me happy, when skies are grey. You’ll never know dear, how much I love you. Please don’t take my sunshine away_ ,” Aubrey softly sings and combined with her fingers softly rubbing Bella’s back, the girl is easily lulled to sleep. 

Aubrey still can’t seem to fall asleep, had thought for sure that having Bella cuddle up to her would settle her enough but her brain is still racing. She knows she should get up, put Bella’s bedsheets in the washing machine and throw a quilt over Stacie, who has almost surely fallen asleep on the floor next to Bella’s bed, but Bella whines and tightens her grip any time Aubrey tries to move so she stays exactly where she is. 

Bella sighs peacefully against her neck and Aubrey takes a deep breath and turns her head away, eyes filling with tears as she tries not to sob, not to shake too much to avoid waking Bella up but she suddenly can’t stop crying. 

Aubrey has no idea how long she cries for or how much time passes, but she’s wiping away tears from her cheeks when there’s a tentative knock on her bedroom door before it’s being softly pushed open by Stacie. 

“Do you need me to take her off your hands so you can get ready for work?” she offers, but Aubrey won’t meet her eyes. 

“I have today off, Martin insisted.” 

“Oh,” Stacie whispers, voice thick and she awkwardly shifts in the doorway. “Want me to take her so you can sleep?” 

“She’s not keeping me up,” Aubrey whispers and Stacie’s exhale is loud and stuttered. “Honestly, I’m fine with her here.” 

“Okay,” Stacie says, turns to go but lingers with her hand on the door as she watches Aubrey and Bella. There are tears rolling down her cheeks when she leaves, and she can barely hold it together as she closes the door behind her. 

Stacie chokes back a sob as she leans against the wall next to Aubrey’s bedroom door, slides down to the floor and buries her face in her knees as she cries. 

 

* * *

 

The house is tense for the whole next day and night, and Stacie burns with shame and regret that she’d implied she didn’t need Aubrey’s help when they trade Bella back and forth to catch up on sleep. 

Neither of them gets much sleep anyway, but that’s beside the point. 

Wednesday morning Bella wakes up and when she coughs it doesn’t sound like her lungs are rattling in her ribcage anymore, so Stacie takes her to her paediatrician and Aubrey goes back to work. 

Aubrey almost cries when she gets the text that Bella’s in the all clear, and she has to snap herself out of it, hadn’t thought she could do any more crying. 

When she gets home from work, Bella isn’t entirely back to her carefree, bright self yet, but she does seem a lot better than the day before and she hugs Aubrey tightly. Aubrey buries her face in the girl’s hair, inhaling deeply and savouring the moment. 

Bella pulls away and asks her if they can watch Cinderella together and Aubrey can’t refuse her so she smiles softly and says yes and lets herself be led to the living room. 

Bella pushes her down onto the couch next to Stacie and crawls onto her lap, spreading out across Aubrey and Stacie’s lap, her head on her arms in Stacie’s lap and her lower body across Aubrey’s thighs. 

Stacie lifts the remote and hits play on the movie and Bella squirms, settling and Stacie’s hand ends up running through Bella’s hair softly while Aubrey traces her fingertips along Bella’s legs. 

They’re both staring straight ahead to avoid looking at each other, so Aubrey decides it’s as good a time as any. 

“I’m going to be gone for a bit unless you need me here?” she says, forcing her tone to be as casual as possible and she can feel Stacie’s body freeze as she snaps her head to look at the blonde. 

“You’re leaving?” 

“It’s what I’m good at, right?” Aubrey challenges but it holds no bite because she’s still not looking at Stacie, but it also means she misses the panic and dread that settles in Stacie. 

“Aubrey…” she says, drops her voice to a whisper when Bella turns to her with a frown for speaking over the movie. “Please don’t do this.” 

“I’ll only be gone for three days, don’t worry about it,” Aubrey says and she can feel the panic coming off Stacie now but she can’t turn her head, can’t look the woman in the eye.  

“Where are you going? When do you leave?” Stacie’s surprised she manages to ask anything with a level voice because she feels like she can’t breathe. 

“I have a meeting in New York,” Aubrey whispers. 

“Do you really?” Stacie begs. 

“I fly out tomorrow morning and I’ll be back Saturday night.” 

Her heart aches when the closest Aubrey gets to even looking in her direction is when she lovingly gazes down at Bella, who grins back up happily at Aubrey, completely unaware of the tense situation happening around her. 

“Yeah, okay, uh, we’ll be okay,” Stacie says, stumbling over the words. “Have fun,” she says, tries to keep it light but can’t help how bitter the words come out and the only sign she gets that Aubrey hears her is when the woman frowns softly, looks down at her lap. 

 

* * *

 

Aubrey is up early the next morning, and when she comes down to the kitchen she’s surprised to find Stacie already awake, crying into her coffee. Stacie’s eyes go wide when she sees Aubrey and she turns away to wipe at her cheeks with her shirt. 

Aubrey looks away discreetly, moves to pour coffee into her travel mug but she can’t help how her own eyes fill with tears at the sight of a heartbroken Stacie. 

“Aubrey,” Stacie pleads, voice wavering. “Please don’t leave.” 

Aubrey’s hands are pressed against the kitchen counter as if to hold her body up and her head hangs low, blonde hair curtained around her face but Stacie knows she’s crying and that just makes everything worse. 

“I have to,” Aubrey whispers, not meeting her eyes and Stacie’s used to it by now and she knows she deserves it but that doesn’t mean it hurts any less. 

“You’re coming back, right?” she begs but Aubrey doesn’t answer her right away and she turns desperate. “Aubrey, you have to come back.” Stacie feels fear grip her when Aubrey still doesn’t speak up. “For her.” 

“For her,” Aubrey confirms quickly, voice cracking and the words are painful but they’re also a relief and Stacie doesn’t even try to hide her sob.

“I—” she starts, but there’s a crash upstairs and a loud “mommy!” that makes both of them lift their heads towards the sound. “Shit,” Stacie mumbles, wiping away her tears. She hesitates for a second, doesn’t want to leave Aubrey like this but the blonde shakes her head softly. 

“Go,” Aubrey says, so Stacie all but runs up the stairs to see what’s happened to Bella. 

 

* * *

 

Even though it’s only for three days and Aubrey has had to travel for work before, it feels like she’s leaving them forever. 

Stacie feels anguished when Bella seems to sense something is different this time and cries as Aubrey says goodbye to her. 

“I’ll see you in a few days, sweetheart,” Aubrey says, crouching down in front of the four-year-old who looks absolutely devastated that Aubrey is even leaving in the first place. Bella’s still in her pyjamas, holding her blankie as tears are streaming down her face. 

“But I don’t want you to go.”

“I’ll only be gone for three sleeps. When you wake up Sunday morning, I’ll be home,” Aubrey explains, running a hand through Bella’s unruly hair and cupping the girl’s face in her hands, thumbs wiping away tears. 

“‘m gonna miss you,” Bella says, voice sad and then she throws her arms around Aubrey, clinging to her. 

“I will call you every day, okay?” Aubrey says, pulling the girl away enough so their eyes can meet and Bella can see that Aubrey means it. 

Bella nods in understanding. 

“I love you, Bella,” Aubrey whispers and Stacie feels wrong watching it, feels like she’s intruding on a private moment. 

“I love you, too,” Bella says back and leans forward to carefully press her forehead against Aubrey’s.

“Be good for your mom.” 

Bella nods in response when Aubrey pulls away and stands up, and she clings to Stacie, small arms wrapping around Stacie’s leg. 

Aubrey’s eyes lock with Stacie’s and for the first time in days, neither one looks away immediately. 

Stacie’s eyes are red and she looks like she wants to cry and she can see that Aubrey’s also holding back tears but she forces herself to stay strong, if only for Bella. 

“See you Saturday,” Aubrey says softly, stressing the last word and Stacie nods sharply. 

“Have a safe flight. Please text me when you land.” 

Aubrey nods and then she’s leaving, grabbing her weekend bag and walking away and once again Stacie feels like she can’t breathe. 

 

 


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this is it, friends!

Aubrey’s flight gets in at 10.35pm and since she’s only carrying hand luggage, Stacie estimates that it will take her thirty minutes to get out of the airport and another twenty minutes to drive home, so at 11.15pm she goes outside and settles onto the porch swing. She’s comfortably clad in sweatpants and a tank top, sipping from a mug of tea and reading on her tablet when Aubrey drives up to the house. She looks up when she hears Aubrey kill the engine, and they make eye contact and Stacie can see Aubrey take a deep breath before exiting the car. 

“Hey,” Stacie calls out softly, a tinge of hope in her voice. She knows they’re in a bad place but she’s still very happy to see Aubrey and had missed her the whole time she was gone. 

“Hey,” she says back, musters up a small smile as she drops her weekend bag by the door before moving closer and sitting on the swing next to Stacie. 

“How was your flight?” Stacie asks, tries for a neutral topic as she turns off her tablet. 

“It was fine.” 

“And your weekend with Chloe?” Aubrey’s not looking at her, so she takes the opportunity to really look at the blonde, takes in all her features because she’s not sure when she can do it again. 

“It was nice, I really needed it,” Aubrey replies softly and a pang of guilt goes through Stacie at the implication behind the simple words. 

“Aubrey,” Stacie says softly, pleadingly, and the mood shifts.

Aubrey turns to look at her, and the sadness comes off her in waves but Stacie’s just grateful that Aubrey’s even looking at her. 

Aubrey’s gaze flickers between Stacie’s eyes, down her body and settling on her hands where Stacie’s left hand is almost desperately clutching her tablet, knuckles white with exertion. 

“How are we supposed to move on from this?” she says, and their voices have been quiet, soft, like they’re afraid to burst the calm bubble but Stacie knows her well enough to notice that Aubrey’s voice wavers. 

“What?” Stacie asks brokenly. The words finally sink in, hit her hard and she can’t control the tears that pool in her eyes. 

“I’m so sorry, Stacie,” Aubrey says and Stacie’s heart stops, and she’s actually crying now because this is it, right? This is the end. 

“Look at how easy it is for us to hurt each other,” Aubrey says softly. “I don’t want that.” 

She feels the dread settle firmly in her gut at the words, and when she looks up she can see that Aubrey’s close to crying and Stacie knows she needs to be the one to say the next words, knows that Aubrey’s too good a person to do this. 

“I know we said we’d try a year, but I completely understand if you want me gone.” She almost chokes on the last word, has to take a deep breath to try to calm herself and not show just how much she doesn’t fucking want this. 

A strangled gasp comes from Aubrey and Stacie finally looks up at her, sees the alarming look on her face. 

Stacie’s hands shake as she looks away, forces the words out. “I’ll find a place nearby and of course you can see Bella as much as you like—” 

“No!” Aubrey interrupts, and she says it in her normal volume but they’ve been whispering so it sounds like a shout.

“What?” Stacie asks and it’s more a reflex than anything because she’s pretty sure her heart isn’t actually beating and she feels like she’s not getting oxygen. 

“No,” Aubrey repeats but doesn’t explain herself. 

“You don’t want to see Bella?” Stacie asks, voice cracking as her brain traitorously reminds her that this is what she’d been trying to protect Bella from the whole time. 

“No, I—” Aubrey’s voice catches loudly, and she’s frowning, still looks so incredibly panicked and Stacie can’t figure that part out. “I don’t want you to leave.” 

Stacie feels a wave of relief wash over her, but she’s still so confused by the contradictory words that are coming from Aubrey. She opens her mouth to say something before abruptly shutting it when she realises she has no idea what she wants to say. 

Aubrey blanches and a few tears roll down her cheeks. 

“Unless you want to,” she says, voice shaky. 

“No!” Stacie says, her turn to shout when she realises Aubrey’s gotten the wrong impression from her silence. “No.” 

Their eyes meet and they seem to have come to some sort of understanding, and it’s a start. 

“Okay,” Aubrey finally whispers. 

She sniffs and reaches up to wipe away her tears, and when Stacie looks down and sees droplets on her tablet she realises she’s also crying. 

“What are we gonna do?” she asks. 

“I don’t know,” Aubrey says just as softly. 

They’re quiet for a long time, and Stacie knows that she needs to take this first step.

“I’m so sorry, Aubrey,” she says, looks sideways at the blonde. “For what I said. I said it to hurt you and I can’t forgive myself for that, but I didn’t mean it.” 

Aubrey shoots her a wry smile. 

“Yes, you did,” Aubrey says and Stacie opens her mouth to protest it when Aubrey continues. “It hurt because I know you meant it. You don’t say things you don’t mean, Stacie,” Aubrey says softly and oddly enough it sounds like a compliment. 

She’s not sure how to respond because Aubrey right, because she  _had_  meant the words. 

“You hate me for something that happened in Denver and I can’t figure out what,” Aubrey whispers and it’s the first time they mention that night but Aubrey knows that they need to talk about this if they want any chance of moving forward. 

“Because you left,” Stacie points, her voice thick but Aubrey’s eyebrows knit together because she still doesn’t understand. 

“Wh—?” 

“You promised you’d say goodbye before you left.” 

“I had to leave earlier than planned, I left you a note.” 

“The note,” Stacie says with a dark scoff. “You didn’t even leave me your phone number.” 

“I—” Aubrey starts to say, but she falters, not sure how she can justify even that one because Stacie’s right. 

Stacie hesitates, careful with her next words because the last time she’d let her emotions take over, she’d said something unforgivable that chased Aubrey away. 

“I felt like trash,” Stacie confesses in a small voice. “I woke up naked and alone and I felt so… used.” 

Aubrey feels the weight of the world crash down on her, horror flowing through her as her hand flies up to cover her mouth while she tries to choke back a gasp.

“No, I—I’m n—I didn’t—I’m so sorry,” Aubrey says, voice cracking. “I never meant for you to feel that way.” 

Stacie shrugs, doesn’t look like she quite believes her. 

“Stacie,” Aubrey pleads, waits until Stacie meets her eyes. “Please, I’m so, so sorry.” 

Stacie looks guarded and Aubrey knows the damage is done and nothing she says can make the years of hurt go away. Stacie looks away from her, plucks absentmindedly at her sweatpants and Aubrey has so many questions and Stacie must sense that. 

“And then I don’t hear from you ever again,” Stacie adds and it makes Aubrey feel ten times worse. “I knew I’d see you again, and when I did, you made it very clear that that night never happened so I wasn’t going to fight with you about it no matter how much I hated it or how shitty you made me feel.” 

“I didn’t know,” Aubrey whispers and it’s not an accusation, it’s almost desperate, pleading. “I’m so sorry, Stacie.” 

“It’s alright,” Stacie says with a soft shrug, shaking her head as she glances sideways at Aubrey to shoot her a small smile.

“No, it’s not,” Aubrey presses and Stacie’s eyebrows knit together in confusion. “How are we supposed to be okay when you’ve been secretly hating me for six years for making you feel that way?” 

“I don’t hate you,” Stacie counters immediately but Aubrey doesn’t look like she believes her. 

“Didn’t sound that way,” she whispers. 

“I don’t hate you,” Stacie repeats sharply, doesn’t like how convinced Aubrey sounds.

“I would,” Aubrey whispers softly and Stacie can practically feel Aubrey’s self-loathing settle in. 

“Aubrey, I couldn’t hate you if I tried.” 

Aubrey scoffs at that and she looks so sure of herself that Stacie can’t bear to leave it as is. 

“That night meant everything to me, Bree,” Stacie says. “I hate how it ended and I hate how I felt afterwards but if I could go back, I would do it all over again.” 

“Why?” Aubrey asks, the words giving her pause. 

Stacie hesitates, starts doubting herself but then she hears Ashley’s reassuring words ringing in her head — from a late-night teary phone call where Ashley had tried to convince Stacie that maybe all of her feelings aren’t entirely one-sided — and she takes the leap because she’s already baring her soul so they may as well lay everything out on the table. 

“Because for one night you were all mine. I wouldn’t trade that in for the world. It’s all I have of you,” Stacie confesses with a sad smile. “And if it’s all I get then I’m okay with that because I don’t want to lose what we have. I hate how you made me feel but I could  _never_  hate you, Aubrey.” 

“You want more?” Aubrey asks, voice shaky and when Stacie looks at her, she can see her hands trembling. 

“Yes.” 

“I don’t regret that night,” Aubrey says immediately, feels like she should clarify that point and it’s not exactly what Stacie’s expecting but it’s a start and it’s enough to ease her tension somewhat. Aubrey's hands are shaking, and she’s not sure how to begin processing what Stacie says, but her brain keeps circling back to one thing, and she’s wary and hesitant but she has to know. “You have feelings for me?” 

Aubrey’s voice sounds so small and insecure and Stacie finally has the full picture. While she’d been blinded and preoccupied with hiding away her true feelings and savouring what little she was getting of Aubrey, Aubrey had been doing the exact same and Stacie thinks back to all the small moments, every single time they’d been toeing the line too afraid to ask for more. 

Hope rages through Stacie like a wildfire because, “Yes.” 

Aubrey lets out a shaky breath. 

“I have a  _lot_  of feelings for you,” Stacie adds with an awkward chuckle, glancing away. “I’m so in love with you, it’s crazy,” Stacie whispers and the words feel like a relief; it feels so good to finally admit the truth after all these years and Stacie feels a strange sense of calm spread through her even though Aubrey’s completely frozen and is giving no external signs that she’s heard Stacie’s words. 

“Aubrey?” Stacie calls out softly when she goes too long without saying something, and Stacie can see how desperately she’s trying to keep it together but her hands are trembling and she can see tears pooling in Aubrey’s eyes. 

“Do you have feelings for me?” Stacie asks carefully, a little desperately, and she tries to sound as non-confrontational as possible because Aubrey looks so scared. 

“Yes,” she whispers and it’s so quiet that Stacie almost misses it. Aubrey bites her lower lip as the tears fall and she’s crying and she’d really like to not be crying right now but she feels so relieved to finally admit it out loud, years of holding it in come bursting out. “Yes,” she repeats, louder and stronger even though she’s crying. 

Something snaps inside Stacie, her brave resolve crumbling and she’s crying with relief. “Oh, thank god,” she mumbles with a deep exhale as her eyes slide closed and her shoulders slump. 

Aubrey’s crying but she lets out a short, sharp laugh. 

“Jesus, I really thought you were going to say no for a second there,” Stacie breathes, eyes opening to look at Aubrey, finds her smiling down at her lap. 

“Sorry,” she says quickly, but she doesn’t sound remorseful at all, voice wavering and when Aubrey closes her eyes with a sigh, Stacie can see fresh tears trail down her cheeks and she can’t help herself, reaching out to swipe her thumb across Aubrey’s cheek gently. 

Aubrey smiles, leans into the touch as she tries to get her breathing under control. 

“I’m sorry about what I said,” Aubrey whispers and it’s a sharp turn away from what they’re talking about and Stacie frowns, a little lost. “About you running off.” 

“It wasn’t an entirely inaccurate assessment,” Stacie says and Aubrey’s eyes flutter open to meet hers, brow furrowing in confusion. “You’re the first person to treat me decently and here I am,” Stacie says, trying to lighten the mood and it works. 

Aubrey chuckles, turns her head to press her lips against Stacie’s palm. 

“Still, it was mean and unfair.” 

“I’m sorry I implied you don’t care about Bella,” Stacie says and Aubrey sighs, a wry smile on her face. 

“We shouldn’t have fights in the middle of the night.” 

“I’d prefer not to have any fights with you,” Stacie says and it makes Aubrey smile softly. 

“That’s unrealistic.” 

“Yeah, I know.” 

“I’m sorry I ran,” Aubrey whispers softly, voice thick with emotion and Stacie knows she’s not just talking about this weekend. “I was protecting myself.” 

“I get it,” Stacie says, smiling softly at Aubrey. “I’m sorry for everything.” 

“So am I.” 

“Are we going to be okay?” Stacie asks. 

“We’re going to be okay,” Aubrey says and Stacie feels like she can finally breathe a sigh of relief. 

They fall silent then, and Stacie smiles when Aubrey scoots closer to lay her head on her shoulder. She wraps her arm around Aubrey’s shoulders and the woman cuddles closer to her with a soft sigh while Stacie looks out at the dark front yard. 

“Now what?” Stacie whispers. 

“Now…” Aubrey stops, yawns loudly, cheeks flushing red in embarrassment when Stacie grins widely at her. “Now we go to bed.” 

Her voice is low and warm and Stacie can’t resist teasing Aubrey as she starts to get up. 

“Damn, Posen, you move fast,” she says. “At least last time you bought me dinner first.” 

Her smile drops when Aubrey turns to her with a panicked look, face blanching. 

“I didn’t mean—” 

“Shit, I’m sorry, that was way too soon for that joke,” Stacie says quickly, standing up in a flash and gently cupping Aubrey’s face in her hand to force the blonde to look at her. “Bad joke.” 

Aubrey sighs with a soft smile, eyes closing as Stacie soothingly traces her thumb across her cheek. 

Stacie steps closer, her idle hand itching to wrap around Aubrey’s waist. She can feel Aubrey’s warm breath wash across her neck, sees as the woman bites her lower lip. 

Aubrey’s eyes flutter open and immediately drop to Stacie’s lips, her hand reaching out and softly touching Stacie’s hip as she sways closer. 

“Can I kiss you?” Aubrey asks, still staring at Stacie’s mouth and Stacie can’t help but smile. 

“You don’t have to ask,” she says and then Aubrey stands on the tips of her toes and leans in, pressing her lips against Stacie’s and they melt together, Stacie finally wrapping her arm around Aubrey’s middle and hauling her closer. 

They’re finally kissing, for real this time, not in a frantic hurry to get to other activities and not to get a creep to leave them alone at the grocery store and it’s amazing. 

Aubrey flushes warmly at the realisation that she’s finally kissing Stacie and she can’t get enough, runs her hands up Stacie’s arms until they’re at her shoulders and she slides a hand further to cup Stacie’s neck, fingers tangling in her hair and Stacie responds by tugging her even closer, one of her hands pressing against the small of Aubrey’s back to keep her as close as possible. 

Stacie nips at Aubrey’s lower lip and she moans softly in response, and Aubrey can feel Stacie smile against her lips so she tries to deepen the kiss, growling softly when Stacie refuses to let her and she tugs softly at Stacie’s hair, smiles triumphantly when Stacie gasps and gives in and Aubrey licks hotly into Stacie’s mouth. 

Stacie refuses to let Aubrey take control so she moves a hand up Aubrey’s back, drags it back down slowly, raking her nails on the way down and Aubrey breaks away from their kiss with a strangled gasp and a shudder and Stacie’s grin is smug. 

“You taste so good,” Aubrey says in a daze, drops her forehead to Stacie’s shoulder while she lightly pants and she can feel Stacie’s erratic breathing against her temple. 

“Peppermint tea.” 

Aubrey’s thumb is still softly brushing over her jaw and it’s both dizzying and soothing so when Aubrey lifts her head, Stacie leans in and kisses her again, a lot more shallowly this time. They’re messier, still trying to catch their breaths but it’s like they don’t want their lips to separate and  _this_  is how Stacie remembers that night. 

Aubrey moans, the sound coming from the back of her throat and Stacie has to pull away sharply at the sound, doesn’t want to push this too far but Aubrey chases her lips, doesn’t let her pull back and Stacie can’t resist her, kisses her back. 

She’s not sure exactly how it happens but she’s suddenly pushing Aubrey into the bannister of the front porch, one of her hands slipping under Aubrey’s blouse to touch soft skin and Stacie’s warm fingers against her cool skin makes Aubrey moan. 

Aubrey pulls away, turns her head so Stacie ends up nuzzling her cheek, and she tries to get her racing pulse under control. She turns her head back, presses her forehead against Stacie’s as she bites her lip, trying not to smile too widely because she feels so happy. 

Aubrey opens her eyes to find Stacie staring at her, expressive green eyes shining and she can’t stop looking at them, leaning in to press a quick, hard kiss to Stacie’s lips. 

“Stay the night?” Aubrey asks, has to clear her throat. 

Stacie frowns quickly, looks puzzled. 

“I want a do-over of that morning,” Aubrey says, a blush trailing up her cheeks and Stacie understands, smiles widely as warmth fills her chest. 

“Of course,” Stacie says, smile a permanent fixture on her face now. “Come on.” 

They reluctantly pull apart, Aubrey reaching for her bag while Stacie grabs her empty mug and tablet and follows Aubrey into the house. 

“Welcome home,” Stacie whispers into Aubrey’s ear from behind her, and Aubrey smiles brilliantly up at her. 

 

* * *

 

Twenty minutes later Aubrey’s turning off the light in the bathroom, pulling her hair down from its bun. Stacie’s in bed reading and Aubrey stops in the doorway to look at her, can feel literal butterflies in her stomach at the sight of the brunette in her bed and she hasn’t felt this light and happy in years. 

When she closes the door behind her Stacie finally looks up, face lighting up as she turns off her tablet and tosses it onto the bedside table. 

Stacie’s pulling back the covers on Aubrey’s side before the woman even makes it to the bed, and Aubrey flushes hotly when Stacie’s eyes trail down her body after she takes off her robe and reveals she’s only wearing underwear and a silky camisole. 

Stacie smiles at the sight of the blush on Aubrey’s cheeks, waits until she slides into bed before wrapping an arm around Aubrey’s middle and pulling her close. 

“Hi,” Aubrey says, lets herself be coaxed closer to Stacie. 

“Hi,” Stacie replies, lips hovering near Aubrey’s. 

“You’re so warm,” she says with a soft sigh, cuddling closer. “Hmm, I have to tell you something.” 

“What’s up?” Stacie asks, a soft frown on her face as her fingers trail across Aubrey’s back, eliciting a small sigh as Aubrey closes her eyes. 

“I’m in love with you too.” 

Aubrey’s eyes are closed so she’s caught completely by surprise when she finds herself suddenly pinned under Stacie, sprawled on her back with Stacie hovering over her looking happy and hopeful. 

“Really?” she asks, sounds breathless and when Aubrey nods she realises it’s because Stacie had been holding her breath. 

Stacie leans down and presses her lips against Aubrey’s in a deep kiss, and Aubrey reaches up to wrap her arm around Stacie’s waist to pull her body closer. Stacie crashes down onto her and Aubrey lets out a guttural moan as Stacie coaxes her mouth open with her tongue. 

“I’m so glad you’re back,” Stacie whispers when their kiss slows. 

“It’s good to be home,” Aubrey says with a smile, reaches up to move Stacie’s hair over one shoulder and run her fingers down Stacie’s neck and along her collarbone. 

“I missed you this week,” Stacie says, tries to convey what she means without having to explicitly say it and Aubrey understands, expression softening. 

“We just need to talk,” she says, leans up to quickly peck at Stacie’s lips. “We’ll be okay.” 

“Good.” 

Stacie sees Aubrey try to suppress a yawn but she’s unsuccessful, and Stacie has to laugh. Aubrey pouts when Stacie shifts away from her, lays on her side next to Aubrey. 

“You should get some sleep.” 

Aubrey whines in complaint, but it turns into a happy sigh when Stacie leans in and kisses her lazily. 

“Bella told me she’s waking up extra early tomorrow to see you, so…” 

Aubrey breaks away with a short laugh and Stacie lets her go when she shifts away to turn off her bedside lamp. When she shifts back, Stacie’s on her side and she squirms closer, lets Stacie press up behind her and Aubrey happily settles against her, pulling Stacie’s arm over her middle and tangling their fingers. 

“Good night, Stacie,” Aubrey whispers, and she already sounds half asleep. 

“Night, Aubrey,” Stacie mumbles, lips close to Aubrey’s ear and she quickly, lovingly presses her lips to the skin there, hears Aubrey sigh happily in response. 

 

* * *

 

When Stacie wakes up the next morning, they’re no longer spooning, but they’re still touching. Aubrey’s shifted onto her back during the night with her free arm resting above her head and Stacie’s shifted away to lay on her front, her arm still across Aubrey’s middle and their hands still clasped together. 

She carefully disentangles their fingers, and Stacie holds her breath when she slides her hand out from under Aubrey’s, the move causing the pads of her fingers to graze soft skin where Aubrey’s camisole has ridden up during the night. 

Once free, she props herself up on her elbow and looks down at a sleeping Aubrey, takes the opportunity now that she’s somewhat more free to admire and touch than before yesterday and she loves that she doesn’t need to be careful about being caught like all the other times she’s done this. 

She gently pushes a rogue lock of hair away from Aubrey’s face, lets her fingers ghost down the blonde’s cheeks and trail along her jawline. 

Aubrey’s curtains aren’t properly closed and there’s sunlight streaming in, across the bed, and Stacie should have remembered that it’s one of the easiest ways of waking Aubrey up but she forgets, is distracted by the sight of the sleeping blonde. 

“Good morning,” Aubrey says, startling Stacie out of her reverie. Aubrey’s voice lacks any trace of sleep and it means she’s been awake for a while now, has been pretending to be asleep and basking in the feeling of Stacie’s fingers tenderly brushing against her skin. 

“Good morning,” Stacie replies, shifting closer, hovering over Aubrey until she opens her eyes. Brilliant green eyes stare up at her and Stacie can’t help but smile, leaning down for a kiss and Aubrey feels warmth bloom in her chest. 

Aubrey tugs her down until their bodies are pressed against each other and Stacie can feel Aubrey’s hands grasping at her back to keep her close. Stacie pulls away and Aubrey whimpers, nails digging into the brunette’s shoulder, but then Stacie’s peppering kisses down Aubrey’s jaw, her neck, sucks at her pulse point and the whimper turns into a sigh.  

Stacie trails her fingers across Aubrey’s shoulder, hooking in the thin strap of her top and moving it down her arm, lips following the trail as she licks across Aubrey’s collarbone. Her fingers keep going, trailing down her side and eliciting soft giggles from Aubrey. She does it again and Aubrey squirms under her. 

“Stacie!” she giggles. 

“Yes?” she says innocently, lifting her head from Aubrey’s shoulder and smiling sweetly. “So when you said you wanted a do-over…” Stacie starts, nips at Aubrey’s collarbone briefly before looking up and meeting Aubrey’s expectant gaze. “Did that also include the morning sex?” 

Aubrey’s eyes darken and she doesn’t answer right away, and then Stacie’s the one yelping when Aubrey pushes her onto her back and slides on top of her, pressing a thigh between Stacie’s. “Yes.” 

Aubrey presses her lips to Stacie’s in a bruising kiss, and Stacie can’t do anything but moan in response. She grips Aubrey’s thigh and squeezes, pulling her closer and Aubrey happily obliges, slides her hips needily against Stacie’s. 

Aubrey pulls away with a sharp gasp and Stacie takes the opportunity to attack her neck with kisses again, and as she’s shifting them to be more comfortable, she sees that Aubrey’s camisole is a very loose one and that with their position, Stacie can see straight down it and the sight of Aubrey’s breasts make her forget how to inhale and she lets out a strangled sound, heart beating rapidly against her ribcage. 

“You okay?” Aubrey asks, full of concern as she looks closely at Stacie, fingers softly scratching behind Stacie’s ear as her thumb gently sweeps over the woman’s cheek. 

“Yeah,” Stacie says, not looking away from Aubrey’s breasts and Aubrey laughs darkly when she realises what’s going on, a sound that turns into a whimper when Stacie swiftly pulls Aubrey’s camisole over her head and tosses it to the side of the bed. Aubrey’s hair tumbles freely and wildly around her face and Stacie reaches up to shift the locks over to one side, tugging Aubrey down to kiss her. 

Stacie knows it’s entirely deliberate when Aubrey shifts her hips and rolls them against her thigh slowly, digging her own thigh up against Stacie’s center, and Aubrey’s fingers are trailing teasingly above the waistband of Stacie’s underwear. 

Stacie can give as good as she gets though, so she uses her free hand to trail down Aubrey’s back and slide into her underwear, squeezing Aubrey’s ass and the woman has to break their kiss to moan softly. She moves her lips to the spot below Stacie’s jaw, scrapes her teeth there and Stacie whines, body thrumming and taut with anticipation, and just as Aubrey pushes her fingers past the fabric of Stacie’s underwear, they hear a door slam down the hall. 

“Dammit,” Stacie whines, head falling back against her pillow as they crash back into reality, Aubrey dropping her face into Stacie’s neck.  

“Sounds like she’s up,” Aubrey mumbles. 

Sure enough, tiny feet come stomping down the hall until they reach the bedroom door. 

Aubrey quickly kisses Stacie’s lips before moving away, reaching for her camisole and pulling it on. 

Bella is banging on the door with open palms excitedly, and she’s clearly wide awake which is unusual for her on any day, even more so on a Sunday. 

“Let her in!” Aubrey says indignantly, playfully kicking Stacie’s leg when she sees the woman hasn’t moved, spurring her into action. With a groan, Stacie gets out of bed and unlocks the bedroom door. 

When she opens the door, Bella looks up at her and when she sees it’s not Aubrey she pushes past Stacie and stops a few feet from the bed, frozen with a smile at the sight of Aubrey sitting up in bed, running a hand through her hair. 

“Come here, you!” Aubrey says with a smile, patting the sheets. 

Bella’s smile widens even more as she runs towards the big bed, and in her excitement, she hops on a little too soon, not quite making it so Aubrey reaches out to grab her flailing hands and pull Bella onto the bed. 

“Hi!” Bella says, slightly out of breath. 

Aubrey pulls her into a tight hug and Bella returns it eagerly, happily cuddling up to the woman. 

“Did you sleep well?” Aubrey asks and Bella nods against her chest. 

She pulls back a little to settle in Aubrey’s lap and they’re fussing over each other and Stacie closes the bedroom door, leans against it and watches them with an affectionate smile. 

“Did’ya have fun in New York?” Bella asks, playing with a lock of Aubrey’s hair. 

“I did! Aunt Beca and Chloe say hi,” Aubrey says with a smile that Bella mirrors. “But I missed hanging out with you and your mommy,” Aubrey adds and at the mention of Stacie she looks up, locks gazes with the brunette whose smile widens. Aubrey motions her head and Stacie kicks off from the door and lazily strolls back over to the bed. 

“We missed you too! Mommy made dinner but it was bad so we had pizza,” Bella supplies happily and Aubrey tries to stifle a laugh. 

Stacie groans defeatedly as she crawls onto the bed. “Bella,” she whines, dragging out the last syllable. “That was going to be our secret!” 

Aubrey doesn’t even try to mask her laugh this time. 

“No secrets,” Bella says, sticks her tongue out at Stacie who gasps indignantly and loudly. 

She wraps an arm around Bella, pulling her out of Aubrey’s lap and pressing her against the mattress, tickling the girl mercilessly and Bella turns into a pool of giggles as she squirms to try and get away from Stacie’s fingers. 

“Help!” Bella manages breathlessly between laughter. 

“Just because she’s back you think you’re safe?” Stacie teases, leans in close and starts peppering Bella with kisses. 

The girl is still giggling loudly, trying to push Stacie away from her to no avail.  

Bella is suddenly tugged downwards by her leg, away from Stacie as Aubrey wraps an arm around the girl and hauls her over to her other side. Aubrey slides down to lay down in bed again, holding Bella against her chest and turning her back to Stacie so the woman can’t reach Bella. 

“Hey!” Stacie complains loudly, turns to Aubrey who’s shielding a still giggling but triumphant Bella with her body.

“You two are too hyperactive for a Sunday morning,” Aubrey says with a laugh, holding Bella against her protectively even as Stacie props herself up on her arm as she settles against Aubrey’s back. 

Bella squirms upwards so that she’s sharing a pillow with Aubrey. She carefully reaches out with her hand, small fingers brushing against Aubrey's cheek reverently and Aubrey turns her head quickly to kiss the girl’s fingers with a smile. 

Aubrey wraps her arm around Bella as the girl cuddles closer and when she turns her head, she finds Stacie staring down at them with an adoring smile. 

“Can we watch Moana?” Bella asks loudly and it breaks them out of their reverie as Aubrey laughs sharply.

“Of course, bubba,” Stacie says with a smile, leaning over Aubrey to quickly kiss Bella’s cheek. 

 

* * *

 

After Stacie puts Bella to bed that night, she goes in search of Aubrey, finds the woman in the study, staring out the big windows with a glass of wine in her hand. 

“Hey,” Stacie says softly, stands in the doorway with a hand on the frame as she takes in the sight of Aubrey finally at home. 

“Hey.” Aubrey twists, smiles at her softly. “She go down easily?” 

“I didn’t even make it to the end of the first page,” Stacie says and Aubrey laughs. 

“She did get up very early today,” Aubrey says as Stacie moves closer and lets her hand trail softly down Aubrey’s back. 

“What’s up?” she asks, sensing a turmoil in Aubrey. 

“Just thinking,” Aubrey says, shakes her head with a half smile. “Trying to figure out where we went wrong.” 

“We need to talk to each other about stuff,” Stacie says and Aubrey turns to her with a small frown, can sense there’s more to her words. “I freaked out about something and instead of talking to you I tried to pretend everything was okay.” 

“Because that never ends badly for us,” Aubrey cuts in with a small smile and Stacie laughs. Aubrey reaches out, fingertips softly brushing against Stacie’s upper arm. “What happened?” 

“Remember when you dropped off Bella at preschool for me a few months ago?” Stacie starts and Aubrey thinks back to the specific instance, nods. “And Tess thought you were Bella’s second mom?” 

“Yes, because of the paperwork you filled in and because Bella doesn’t have a dad,” Aubrey adds but Stacie’s already shaking her head. 

“It’s because Bella calls you her mom at preschool.” 

“ _Oh_ ,” Aubrey says, breathing in sharply, looking at Stacie with worry but Stacie is staring out the window. 

“Yeah. Tess told me about it afterwards. And I wasn’t sure how to deal with that because she never did it at home.” 

“How do you feel about her calling me that?” Aubrey whispers. 

“I’m okay with it now.” 

“Stacie…” 

“I freaked out a little, but how was I supposed to talk to Bella about it? You kinda are her mom. You pack her lunch and you hold her when she’s sick and you love her and she loves you. If she asks me what the difference is between you and me, I don’t know what to tell her.” 

She turns away from the window to look at Aubrey, finds the woman with tears in her eyes, cradling her wine glass against her chest and Stacie shoots her a reassuring smile, leans in to brush her lips against Aubrey’s cheek and she feels Aubrey’s eyes flutter closed as she sighs. 

“But I kept overthinking it,” Stacie says softly. “I should have talked to you about it.” 

“Were you going to?” 

“Only if it came up,” Stacie says and Aubrey shoots her a chiding look. “I know. But then Monday happened and you said no and I… I don’t know. I needed to protect  _her_.” 

“I didn’t say no,” Aubrey says softly. “I wanted to talk about it.” 

“I know.” Stacie sighs deeply. “I  _know_ , but I wasn’t thinking straight. I was upset and tired and I backed you into a corner. She gets attached so easily and I got scared. And it felt like every time I got a step closer to you, you would take one backwards.” 

“I thought you were just being you,” Aubrey explains and something shifts in Stacie’s eyes as she frowns. “No, I don’t mean it like that,” Aubrey reassures quickly, sets down her wineglass to reach for Stacie’s hand. “I mean that you’re friendly and open and charming with everyone so I didn’t figure I was any different. I thought I was getting the most of it because we live together and we’re around each other a lot. That blurs some boundaries,” Aubrey explains, her voice soft and sincere and Stacie smiles down at her, links their fingers. 

“You thought I was flirty with you because that’s just how I am?” Aubrey nods and Stacie sighs with disbelief at herself for not figuring that out. “I gotta stop doing that.” 

“I don’t want you to,” Aubrey says with a smile, steps closer to her. “I love that about you.” 

Stacie smiles down at Aubrey as she reaches up to curl her fingers around the back of Stacie’s neck, urging her down to meet Aubrey’s lips. 

“We’re such idiots,” Stacie says between kisses and Aubrey laughs. “I told you I liked you in Denver,” she can’t help but jokingly point out. 

“You were in a fuck fog,” Aubrey counters immediately with a grin but then she pulls back a little, brows furrowing. “I’m sorry I made you think that night meant nothing to me.” 

Stacie shrugs, shakes her head. 

“Not a day goes by that I don’t think about it,” Aubrey says. “I didn’t wake you up because I didn’t want to get my heart broken.” 

“I know.” 

“And instead I broke yours.” 

“Aubrey, it’s okay,” Stacie says with a small smile, trying to reassure Aubrey as she sees the self-loathing seep back into her eyes. 

“How can it be?” 

Stacie slides her hands around Aubrey’s waist as she looks away, tries to find the right words. “I lost myself in you that night and it hurt because I thought you didn’t feel the same way. I thought it was just a fun night for you and nothing else. But you probably thought the same about me.” 

Aubrey looks down with a chuckle, eyes closing and breathing out shakily when Stacie presses her lips to Aubrey’s forehead and lingers there. “I did.” 

“The time wasn’t right for us.” 

“Is it now?” Aubrey asks, lifts her head and tightens her arms around Stacie’s neck. 

“I hope so,” she answers with a promising smile, leaning in and capturing Aubrey’s lips in a heated kiss. 

“Stacie?” Aubrey says between kisses, and Stacie whines, keeps kissing her. “Stacie…” 

“I’m trying to kiss you,” she says, pulling away with a frown and Aubrey flushes. 

“Do you want to go out on a date with me sometime?” she says and Stacie stills, green eyes twinkling as her whole face lights up and Aubrey’s biting her lower lip, looking so full of promise that Stacie leans in and kisses her again, hand sliding into blonde hair to keep Aubrey close and show her just how much she wants this to work. 

“I’d love to,” Stacie says after they pull away with ragged breaths and Aubrey’s eyes darken as she leans in again and nips at Stacie’s lower lip. “Not that I’m complaining,” Stacie says after a sharp moan. “But usually the sex happens after the date.” 

“Fine then,” Aubrey says, mischief flashing in her eyes as she takes a step back, pulls her hands away from Stacie’s skin as she licks her lips. “We’ll wait until after the date because you’re so  _traditional_.” 

Aubrey’s smiling widely as she reaches for her wine glass and slowly walks away but before she can get too far Stacie wraps an arm around her middle and hauls her back against her body and Aubrey can’t help but shriek with laughter. 

Stacie swallows the sound with her lips, kissing the blonde again. 

“On second thought, we live together and my daughter calls you mom, so what’s the harm?” she says heatedly against Aubrey’s lips. 

“We never decided where we stood on that, actually,” Aubrey protests but doesn’t stop kissing Stacie. 

“She can call you whatever she wants,” Stacie says, moans when Aubrey bites down on her lower lip. 

“That’s not what I mean and you know it.” 

With a soft whine, Stacie pulls away but Aubrey chases her, presses her forehead against Stacie’s. 

“I want this with you,” Aubrey whispers, eyes closing. “All of it.” 

“Good, because I want it with you too.” 

“The commitment? Family? Future?” Aubrey asks, sounding hopeful. 

“Everything,” Stacie presses, reaches up to cup Aubrey’s face in her hands, urging the blonde to look at her. “I love you, Aubrey Posen.” 

Aubrey breathes out sharply at the words, feels like she's bursting with love and she can’t help but smile widely, brilliantly. 

“I love you, Stacie Conrad.” 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Drop me a final comment and keep an eye out for an eventual sequel because I can't get enough of these two


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